Understanding Lived Experiences, Inequalities, And The Quest For Decent Work In Ghana’s Informal Economy

Abstract

This study examines what ‘decent work’ looks like in contexts where most workers operate outside formal employment. Focusing on Ghana's urban informal economy, it explores the lived experiences of market traders, street vendors, and drivers. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews with 30 informal workers were thematically analysed. The findings reveal entrenched precarity, including long working hours, unstable income, hazardous environments, limited access to credit, and weak social protection. These conditions contribute to stress, health challenges, and strained family relationships, with differences across gender, education, occupation, and experience. Despite these constraints, workers express clear expectations for improved infrastructure, inclusive social protection, skill development, and stronger stakeholder support. From a stakeholder perspective, the study shows that informal workers operate within a fragmented system of engagement where support is uneven and often insufficient. It extends stakeholder theory by demonstrating how workers navigate and engage with multiple stakeholders while expressing expectations for improved coordination. The study offers a nuanced understanding of how decent work can be advanced in informal labour contexts.