The employee work landscape keeps on changing. Due to globalization, the economy has developed a work environment that can be termed as unrecognizable when compared with what it was around 40 years back. Freelancing has grown by around 8% in the last 3 years in the U.S. alone. It is believed that by the year 2027 half of the workforce is likely to be either freelancers or independent consultants. No industry is immune to the change and freelancing is here to stay. Here are some reasons why.
There is more money in freelancing than ever before
Various companies while making efforts to maintain low overheads are trying to keep the full-time headcount at the lowest due to having to provide healthcare costs and other benefits to them. Many organizations are hiring more and more freelancers as needed. Due to these positive situations for the companies to hire temporary workers, the freelancers are in great demand and this demand is only likely to grow. Due to the availability of more work it has become easier to make a living as a freelancer.
Freelancers are better equipped for these changes
The requirement for new skills, newer trends in the market, and innovations are some of the things that are arriving all the time. Freelancers always make it a point to be aware of these changes and they update themselves to these changes. The full-time employees tend to get complacent and feel comfortable while the freelancers are aware that they have to be on their toes all the time for the uncertain future. The professionals are constantly talking about the market changes and they are staying updated about the latest innovations, trends, new skill sets required, and movements in the market.
AI and freelancing
Many companies are saying that they can already see the impact of artificial intelligence in their workforce. AI is affecting the different kinds of professions, especially the creative ones. Some examples include Adobe Spark, RelayThat, Haiku Deck, Envato Templates, and Canva. Most of these applications are plug-and-play kinds, similar to WYSIWYG site templates. However, for the graphic design niche, they are digging deep into the bottom line of the design niche. The top entrepreneurs believe that freelancers are better equipped for the threat posed by AI to full-time employees. Freelancers are less likely to get impacted by AI as they are directly dealing with the customers.
Freelancing spreads the risk involved
Similar to investing in index funds where the risk involved in purchasing a broad range of companies is reduced in case a company fails, the freelancing work spreads the risk in employment. Most smart freelancers are working with different companies and a range of clients. As they are working in a wide range of categories the possibility of being adversely affected by the downturns in an industry is lesser. While they work across many industries the freelancers diversify their skill sets and it keeps them in demand. They are continuously on the lookout for new systems, processes, and technologies.
When you are a freelancer you own your brand
There are many advantages to working as a freelancer amid the global pandemic as it is safer because there is no need to be present in the office with other employees. You might just need to share documents with other people and it is recommended for these files to be converted from Word to PDF so they don’t change the format. Freelancers will be actively developing their brands. All the work they put into their work, building their network, and getting clients to stay with them. They will be building their equity and not that of the employer. No market crashes, lay-offs, downturns, or organizational shake ups affect them. Nobody is going to take away your job from you.
Conclusion
The only thing that will remain constant is the change. It is true for the job market more than ever before. The freelancers embrace the idea of changes and because of this, they are less vulnerable to the problem. This forces the freelancers to expand their skill sets organically along with their network. It also reduces the risk of unexpected changes such as lay-offs. It is similar to a permission slip for professionally growing as much as you desire.
