The context of the covid-19 pandemic has drawn the political agenda to the key role that culture plays in society, in different spheres that go beyond its contribution to the economy, such as inclusion and social cohesion, subjective wellbeing and education. It has also revealed the structural weaknesses of the cultural sector with regard to the working and living conditions of artists and cultural workers. Some of the subsectors of culture, such as the performing and musical arts, have been among those most affected by physical and social distancing and restrictions. This article describes the working conditions of cultural workers, as well as their perception regarding the value of their work for themselves and for society. In this regard, it should be noted that artists’ wellbeing is determined not only by the material conditions that they enjoy, but also by their perception of social recognition of their work.

The economic situation of artists and workers in the cultural sector is one of vulnerability: 57% of those surveyed stated that they earned under 1,500 euros per month originating from their cultural activity and, only 18% earned over 2,000 euros, which situates the wage income for these workers very much below Spain’s median wage (1,757 euros) and average wage (2,087 euros per month for the year 2021). 

It is necessary to add to these low salaries other especially adverse working conditions, which lead to a precarious life for many of these workers. For example, 44% of those surveyed stated they were carrying out their activity or had carried it out at some stage in an irregular manner. Furthermore, only 36% of those interviewed managed to always, or nearly always, achieve balance between their personal, family and working life, with this being much more difficult among young people aged up to 35 years, men, and workers with low formal academic qualifications. 

The Occupations Observatory (2022) of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) reported that the cultural sector was among those that lost the most work contracts during the pandemic. According to the survey, 28% of cultural workers considered, during the health crisis, whether to abandon their creative activity. Young workers aged up to 35 years (36%), those in the plastic arts (33%) and those in the performing and audiovisual arts (31%) were those who most considered this alternative.

The pandemic situation has highlighted, especially during the lockdown period, the fundamental role played by culture in combating isolation and loneliness. Although international bodies such as the UNESCO and some governments view culture as an essential or public service, only 5% of the workers surveyed think that society considers their work as essential. 

Their own perception regarding the transformative value of their work in society is more favourable: 40% affirm that their work is capable of improving the population’s levels of health and wellbeing, of increasing the inclusion of more vulnerable groups, or of building sustainable living environments in which citizens can recognise, identify and develop themselves. 

Prior to the study conducted, artists’ own assessment of their work and their perception of the value that society places on it were topics that had been subject to little or no exploration. This study has made it possible to address this aspect. Fifty-two per cent of respondents perceive difficulties in earning a living from their work; 38% see their profession as vocational and lacking social recognition; 45% think that society perceives that only a selected few can earn a living exclusively from their work; 22%, that society believes they are underpaid; 20%, that society considers their career as being filled with obstacles; and 17%, that society perceives that their talent should be reflected in their remuneration.

Despite campaigns promoted during the pandemic to increase awareness about the difficulties that the sector was experiencing, only 18% of the workers surveyed noticed any improvement in society’s perception regarding the value of cultural work. However, improvement of the living conditions of artists and cultural workers will only be achieved through greater professional and economic, as well as social, recognition. In this sense, it is necessary for the commercial value of cultural work to be added to the value that it has for society. Hence the need for greater promotion of campaigns that raise society’s awareness regarding cultural work, going beyond promotional actions by the professional sectors.

For workers in the sector, material precarity, a difficult balance between work and family and personal life, as well as the difficulties linked to entrepreneurship, translate into lower levels of wellbeing. Within this context, around 70% of the workers surveyed indicate suffering from time pressure at work and being unable to disconnect (higher than the nearly 60% of Spanish workers overall who, in 2019, said they suffered from time pressure at work). Close to 65% also say that work has become much more demanding in recent years and 60%, that they suffer constant pressure due to their workload.

The difficulties are manifested in qualitative aspects such as motivation and social recognition of effort and in quantitative aspects such as wages. Regarding remuneration for efforts and achievements at work, only 26% of respondents see their wages as adequate and around 37% feel that their prospects for promotion are adequate.

Younger workers suffer from worse working conditions than the rest of the respondents: they are the group most likely to be working or to have worked irregularly. In comparison with the other age group studied, that of the over 35s, more than 60% of young people under this age have suffered some situation of irregularity in their work (among the rest of the respondents, this percentage does not reach 40%). They are also the group that more generally has experienced widespread economic difficulties during the pandemic (70%), compared to the rest of the workers surveyed, among whom the incidence is significantly lower (45%). 

Workers aged under 35 years are also the group that manifest more difficulties in achieving balance between their personal, family and working life, as well as lower levels of internal control, i.e., a lower proportion of young people consider that their life depends more on them than on circumstances.

Possibly, as a result of these difficulties, workers up to 35 years of age are the age group that has most considered abandoning their creative activity (36% compared to 28% of the rest of those surveyed), as well as seeking creative work abroad (33% in the case of under 35s compared to 24% of those over this age). It is important to point out, in this regard, the growing risk of decapitalisation of the sector represented by both loss of employment and by abandonment of creative activity or of the country in order to work abroad.

 

The study conducted, on which this article is based, shows the precarity, both material and in terms of social recognition, to which workers in the cultural sector are subject. Although this sector generated around 2.4% of GDP in 2019 and 3.5% of total employment in 2020, its value goes beyond its contribution to the economy, since it benefits society in aspects such as social inclusion, personal wellbeing, and education. The study has revealed the structural weaknesses of the cultural sector, in terms of the working and living conditions of artists and cultural workers, and their consideration regarding their work and the perception of it by the rest of society. According to the study participants, society usually attaches little value to their work and to the figure of the cultural worker, and is usually unaware, furthermore, of their working and living conditions. However, improving the living conditions of cultural workers will require greater professional and economic, as well as social, recognition. Moreover, artists and cultural workers say that the covid-19 pandemic has only worsened their working conditions, leading them to low subjective levels of wellbeing. Those most affected have been the under 35s. They have been forced, to a greater extent than the over 35s, to work irregularly on occasions, in addition to being forced to face more intensely such difficulties as an imbalance between their personal, family and working life. 

This study is based on the analysis of data collected through a survey administered to a sample of artists and workers from Spain’s cultural sector. Its design was based on work carried out in other countries and consultations with agents from the sector who helped with the preparation and validation phases of the questionnaire. All persons who could directly or indirectly be considered workers in the cultural sector in Spain were invited to participate. Information was collected through an online questionnaire, offered in Spain’s four official languages, between March and May 2022. After eliminating answers that did not meet the inclusion criteria (a minimum of one year of experience in the cultural sector, age 16 years or older, and answering a minimum of one third of the questionnaire), the sample was composed of 1,384 artists and workers from the sector.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (2021): Research for CULT Committee. The Situation of Artists and Cultural Workers and the post-COVID-19 Cultural Recovery in the European Union: Policy Recommendations. 

EY and ESCUELA SUPERIOR DE MÚSICA REINA SOFÍA (2022): El valor de la cultura. El papel de las Artes Escénicas y la Música Clásica en la economía de impacto. 

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ARTS COUNCILS AND CULTURE AGENCIES (2022): ¿Una crisis de carreras sostenibles? Análisis de las condiciones laborales de los(as) trabajadores(as) independientes de las artes y la cultura.

SPANISH MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORT (2021): Anuario de Estadísticas Culturales. 

THE SOCIAL OBSERVATORY OF ”LA CAIXA” FOUNDATION (2018): Participación cultural y bienestar. ¿Qué nos dicen los datos?.

VOICES OF CULTURE (2021): Voices of Culture Report. Status and Working Conditions for Artists, Cultural and Creative Professionals.