Employers’ request for employee independence: analysis of vacancies on recruiting sites

Effective independent action of a person in various areas of the economy is an important condition for personal success and well-being of the household, and the broader socio-economic environment, when the risk of reduction or deprivation of income becomes the most widespread. The authors investigated the request of Russian employers for independent behavior of employees in the context of categories of personnel, positions and branches of economic activity based on the analysis of job databases. Independence is most appreciated by employers in industries such as retail and information technology. These industries are key in the request for independence, both in the segment of low and high wages. Specific characteristics related to independence and requested in job descriptions are closely related to the position and the amount of the proposed salary. The authors of the article discuss the hypothesis about the heterogeneous structure of the skill of “independence” as an umbrella concept covering various manifestations. In the segment of low wages, the demand for characteristics that imply a conscious action of the employee and the ability to solve current tasks dominates. At the level of high salaries, employers additionally request the need for employees to demonstrate leadership competencies, generate ideas, determination, autonomy, multitasking, strategic planning, organizational management of teams and the launch of new independent projects (corporate entrepreneurship).