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Denmark: a Thriving eWork Economy
Claus Agø Hansen, Leif Limkilder Bloch
 Claus Agø Hansen, Executive Consultant, HK  Leif Limkilder Bloch, Executive Consultant, HK |
The focus of the EMERGENCE employer survey was larger establishments in Europe. But what about their smaller counterparts, employing less than 50 people? Thanks to the generosity of the Danish Trade Union, HK Service, we were able to carry out a supplementary survey of small firms in the knowledge sector in Denmark, the full results of which will be published in the new year. The knowledge sector was defined broadly to include business services, the media, and other knowledge-intensive industries.
Denmark is unusual in Europe in having very advanced collective agreements, negotiated at a national level and embracing a high proportion of the workforce, covering telework. Given that this is now a regulated form of work with guaranteed rights and protection, we would therefore expect to find rather high levels of individualised forms of teleworking by employees, such as fully home-based eWork and eWorking from multiple locations (eg mobile eWork, or eWork carried out partially from the home and partially on the employer’s premises). Denmark does indeed have higher levels than the EU average in both categories. |
In general, levels of eWork are high in Denmark regardless of size, with around 63 per cent of all establishments practising some form of eWork, whether they are in the knowledge sector or not, and whether they are large or small. This compares with a European average level of 49 per cent in large establishments.
| Fig 1: Danish employers’ use of individualised forms of eWork by employees (per cent of establishments) |
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| Source: IES and NOP EMERGENCE Survey, 2000 and Small Firms in Denmark Survey, 2001; base: 7,305 large establishments in Europe; 281 large establishments in Denmark; 108 small establishments in Denmark |
However, when we look in detail at what forms of eWork are practised (shown in Figure 1) some interesting differences emerge. Small establishments in the knowledge sector are much more likely to use fully home-based teleworking than larger establishments in this sector and somewhat more likely to do so than all large establishments. However, they are less likely to use multilocational forms of eWork (involving alternating between home and office or working from a variety of different locations).
The survey also found evidence of a thriving small firm sector supplying telemediated information-based services. Small knowledge-based firms in Denmark are very likely to be involved in eWork supply. Whilst 20.5 per cent of all large establishments in Europe are involved in selling at least one information service to external clients, this level is raised to 22.2 per cent of large establishments in Denmark. However, when we look in more detail at the knowledge sector we find levels which are much higher: 43.2 per cent in large establishments and 53.5 per cent in smaller ones. This suggests that the traffic in information-based services plays a significant role in the Danish economy.
Particularly important (Figure 2) are software development and IT support (supplied by 28.8 per cent of larger knowledge-based establishments and 31.5 per cent of small ones) and customer services (supplied by a quarter of large knowledge-based establishments and 30 per cent of small ones). Creative functions too play a major role, being supplied by 10.7 per cent of large knowledge-based establishments and 27.4 per cent of small ones). Though somewhat less prevalent, both telesales and financial functions (at 13.6 per cent and 9.6 per cent in small establishments) are three or four times as likely to be carried out in small establishments as in larger ones in the knowledge sector, whilst HR, management and training functions are twice as likely to be supplied by small firms. The only exception to this pattern is data entry and typing, a labour-intensive function which is more likely (at 19.3 per cent) to be supplied by larger establishments than by smaller establishments, where it accounts for 13.4 per cent.
| Fig 2: All eWork in Denmark, by business function (supply side) |
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| Source: IES and NOP EMERGENCE Survey, 2000 and Small Firms in Denmark Survey, 2001; base: 7,305 large establishments in Europe; 281 large establishments in Denmark; 108 small establishments in Denmark |
The authors conclude from this and other evidence that Denmark has an exceptionally highly networked economy.
 The Union ofCommercial and Clerical Employees in Denmark |
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