Стребков Денис Олегович

Online platform work in Russia and Ukraine: Gender differences in earnings and work satisfaction

2021 · CHAPTER · en

Work through online labour platforms, which match freelancers and clients located anywhere, gained prominence in Russia and Ukraine over the past decade. Using survey data of online freelancers in Russia and Ukraine, this chapter inquiries into gender specifics of online work. It shows that some important structural gender differences in online work exist in both countries. These differences are primarily manifested by gender segregation into different sectors of activity. These structural gender differences, along with gender differences in online tenure, working hours, and family responsibilities, translate into persisting gender differences in earnings in both countries. Despite this, women seem to be happier with online work than men (in Russia), or at least as happy as men (in Ukraine). The chapter discusses the reasons and potential policy implications of these findings.

Always on across time zones: Invisible schedules in the online gig economy

2021 · ARTICLE · en

This study investigates work schedules in online labour markets, operating in 24/7 mode across spatial borders and time zones. Focusing on largely hidden and invisible work of freelancers such as searching for jobs and communicating with clients, the study documents how platforms put pressures and constraints on freelancers’ time through the mechanism of task allocation. We use data on 241,582 timestamped messages posted by 29,759 unique users in 4082 contests on a leading Russian-language freelance platform to reveal how freelancers’ efforts to get a job make them work nonstandard hours, including evenings, nights and weekends. Freelancers have to be responsive and adapt their schedules to clients’ needs. Freelancers who live in time zones which differ from their clients are particularly disadvantaged, working a greater proportion of nonstandard hours. The findings emerging from the study contribute to current debates on the gig economy and a new time-work discipline.

The geographic and linguistic variety of online labour markets: The cases of Russia and Ukraine

2021 · CHAPTER · en

The Geography of the Digital Freelance Economy in Russia and Beyond

2021 · CHAPTER · en

Freelance platform work in the Russian Federation: 2009–2019

2021 · BOOK · en

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, freelance work through online platforms emerged as a new phenomenon, gradually becoming a distinctive feature of the digital economy. This paper traces the development of freelance platform work in the Russian Federation and the wider post-Soviet space. The study utilizes unique data from four online surveys conducted by the authors in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2019 via the leading general-purpose platform for creative and knowledge-based work, FL.ru operating in the Russian language. The common methodology used to collect and analyse the data from each survey provides an opportunity to shed light on the dynamics of key indicators over the ten-year period. The study investigates socio-demographic characteristics of freelancers and their careers, motivations, working conditions and well-being, as well as the problems that freelancers encounter in their relationships with clients. Overall, the results point to the increased importance of platforms, the diffusion of the new model of work among the wider population, and the persistent informality that may hinder the future development of the online labour market. The lack of basic labour rights, collective representation and social protection is also a pressing concern.

Linking Public Opinion and Foreign Policy in Russia

2020 · ARTICLE · en

Empirical studies in democracies have revealed some degree of causal relationship between public opinion and foreign policy. A look at the relationship between the evolution of Russian foreign policy priorities, as evidenced in the Foreign Policy Concepts (2000, 2008, 2013 and 2016), and public opinion regarding foreign policy measured from 1997 to 2018 shows significant shifts in perceptions of the nation’s international image. The amity/enmity feelings towards others can be explained as responses to key international events, endorsing the thesis of a rational and reactive public. Overall, public opinion and the official policy line in Russia move in the same direction.

The Autonomy Paradox: How Night Work Undermines Subjective Well-Being of Internet-Based Freelancers

2019 · ARTICLE · en

Skill Mismatch and Work–Life Conflict: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

2019 · ARTICLE · en

Социальные факторы выбора контрагентов на бирже удалённой работы: исследование конкурсов с помощью «больших данных»

2019 · ARTICLE · ru

Ловушка гибкой занятости: как нестандартный график работы влияет на баланс между работой и жизнью фрилансеров

2019 · ARTICLE · ru

Исследование пробле­матизирует роль гибких трудовых гра­фиков в жизни самозанятых профессионалов (фрилансеров). Высокий уровень автономии в распоряжении собственным временем не только име­ет очевидные преимущества, но и мо­жет приводить к самоэксплуатации. Опираясь на данные онлайн-опро­са «Перепись фрилансеров» (2019) и RLMS-HSE (2017), мы демонстрируем, что на фоне среднероссийских показа­телей фрилансеры намного чаще тру­дятся в нестандартное время: поздними вечерами и ночью, а также в выходные и праздничные дни, когда другие люди отдыхают. Регрессионный анализ по­казывает, что работа в нестандартное время приводит к ухудшению баланса между работой и жизнью фрилансеров. В наиболее уязвимом положении ока­зываются женщины; люди, имеющие супруга (партнера); фрилансеры с не­совершеннолетними детьми.