Counting on the unpredictable and adapting your own qualifications – this is normal for freelancers. In uncertain times, permanent employees can benefit from such an attitude.
They work their way from project to project, as a contractor, contract, or temporary worker – and earn a lot of money: Freelancers have come to appreciate the so-called gig economy, named after their brief appearances in new companies.
Because they are not dependent, they can constantly push their knowledge in the IT or engineering sector, for example, often feel free to get to know cities and countries and have a large network from which they benefit.
But they also know about the finiteness of jobs and job descriptions. Which does not make them despair, but from which they draw strength and flexibility on the contrary. Gig economy workers say much more often than permanent employees that their job did not exist five years ago or that their current role will no longer exist in five years.
This is shown by studies of the Workforce View Study 2020 by the ADP Research Institute. While the message is negative, more than half of the self-employed are confident: they expect to have more choices in how and where to work in five years’ time.
Permanent employees rely on security and control
The traditional employees rely more on security: 81 percent would prefer a permanent position to a job as a freelancer or contract worker, even if the gig economy has grown rapidly in recent years.
Most employees are worried about not knowing where their path is going and what financial means they will have to use. Almost three-quarters of them see permanent employment as a better opportunity to have a fixed annual income or to be creditworthy. Top jobs of the day
Permanent employees also appreciate the control over their work, the overview of individual development opportunities, or the better compatibility of work and personal or family requirements.
Freedom is lost to a certain extent. And with it the preparation for crises, as the corona pandemic with all its economic consequences is now showing.
Freelancers are in a good mood but have tough working conditions
What makes freelancers and contract workers special is that nine out of ten are strongly convinced of their abilities and almost as many are more optimistic about the next five years than classic employees.
Compared to their employed colleagues, however, freelancers are faced with challenging working conditions:
More unpaid overtime:
Contract workers report that, on average, they work almost twice as many hours per week for free (6.5 hours) as employees in a permanent position (3.8 hours). More than one in ten freelancers even works 11 to 15 unpaid overtime a week.
Greater pressure:
Many freelancers use more flexible working arrangements and feel that they are being judged negatively.
Late Pay:
21 percent of contract workers report that they are sometimes paid late. This leads to stress for them, because it in turn prevents them from paying their bills. Permanent employees hardly know the problem at all.
Increased discrimination in the workplace:
Almost half of the independent self-employed have felt discriminated against in the workplace. Age is cited as the most common reason for disadvantage in the workplace in the gig economy, followed by gender and background.
Front building through freedom in work design
These harsh working conditions seem to deter many permanent employees. The majority of employees must therefore first be convinced of the advantages, says Steven van Tuijl, General Manager Germany and Poland of the HR service provider ADP. It remains to be seen “whether the attractiveness of gig work increases due to the desire for even greater freedom in the way we work.”
Especially since the apparent security in permanent employment is no longer perceived to the same extent. For some, it could also be a good solution if project offers could be offered and carried out by several employers.
Income is distributed “across multiple sources” and “the risk of becoming unemployed” is reduced.
