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Oliver Stettes IW-Trends No. 1 14. April 2023 Solo Self-employed and Contract Workers as Catalysts of Digital Transformation in German Companies

In 2021, around one in four companies in Germany had solo self-employed workers or employees of outside companies working for them under contract.

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Solo Self-employed and Contract Workers as Catalysts of Digital Transformation in German Companies
Oliver Stettes IW-Trends No. 1 14. April 2023

Solo Self-employed and Contract Workers as Catalysts of Digital Transformation in German Companies

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

In 2021, around one in four companies in Germany had solo self-employed workers or employees of outside companies working for them under contract.

This is the conclusion drawn by an empirical analysis based on the 29th and 30th waves of the IW Personnel Panel conducted in the spring and summer of 2022. Companies rely on solo self-employed and contract workers from outside companies when they need additional personnel only for a limited time and can obtain staff quickly from external sources. However, by using external workers, they also gain access to specific know-how not available in their own workforces. In addition, their use has an insurance function. It turns out that the use of external staff is a catalyst for digital transformation at the company level. Solo self-employed workers tend to play an important role in the introduction of digital frontier technologies, while contract workers from outside companies tend to be used in the implementation of more mature technologies.

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Solo Self-employed and Contract Workers as Catalysts of Digital Transformation in German Companies
Oliver Stettes IW-Trends No. 1 14. April 2023

Solo Self-employed and Contract Workers as Catalysts of Digital Transformation in German Companies

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

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Männlicher Programmierer, der zu Hause in seinem Heimbüro arbeitet
Andrea Hammermann / Roschan Monsef / Oliver Stettes IW-Trends No. 4 22. January 2025

More Productive with AI?: How Companies and Employees Assess its Effects on Productivity

Almost one third of all employees in Germany have had at least one new artificial intelligence (AI) application introduced at their workplace since 2022. AI is most commonly used for automatic data processing and text recognition.

IW

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Holger Schäfer IW-Trends No. 4 4. December 2024

Employment Dynamics in the Low-wage Sector

In 2021 around 13 per cent of the working-age population, or 19 per cent of those in dependent employment, were receiving a low wage, showing that this pay segment is continuing to decline.

IW

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