The Pandemic has forced many of us to rethink the way we work with one of the biggest challenges being the sudden switch to remote working or working from home. Many of us now swap our daily train commute for an amble from our bed to the kitchen table, or wherever our office set-up may be. And for many this is the silver lining to the crisis. No daily commute. Flexible hours. A more comfortable working environment. Friends and colleagues alike tell me they’ve been more productive. Many say they’ve never been happier.
There has been a growing trend over recent years of people embarking on freelancing as a career choice, driven by this very desire to embrace remote and more flexible working. And they decided this long before the pandemic. By 2027, McKinsey has predicted that 50% of the US workforce will be working independently. According to the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), the UK self-employed sector now includes approximately 4.8 million people, with freelancers comprising 42 per cent of that population and six per cent of the UK workforce as a whole. And that was pre-March 2020, when the world woke up to working from home.
At The Work Crowd, we’ve seen a 74% rise in freelancer sign-ups over the last two years, and with many getting a taste for a more flexible way of working during lockdown, we’re sure numbers will continue to grow. In times of uncertainty, businesses also prefer to hire experienced freelancers. We have seen a 25% rise in start-ups looking to hire freelancers in the last month.
Many factors come into play, but here I take a look at some of the key influences driving this trend:
Flexibility is King
The number of female freelancers has grown by 55 percent since 2008[1]. New mothers choosing to take up freelance work rather than return to full-time office employment post-baby has shot up by 79 per cent. Yet, it’s not just new mothers who are opting for this more flexible way of working, but we’re also seeing more men going freelance as they want to spend more time with their family, as well as carers who want to fit their roles around looking after elderly family members. But you don’t need to be a parent or carer to opt for flexibility – more and more people are going freelance as, for them, flexibility takes precedence over job security, and is seen as the greatest work perk of them all.
Benefitting Smaller Communities
Freelancing enables people to work from anywhere – work doesn’t always need to be London centric. This flexibility has a huge impact on opening up and allowing smaller communities to prosper. I am originally from the North of England and it’s particularly true there – it’s an area with great connectivity but a long way from London. Remote working opens ups options considerably when it comes to housing – when you’re not tied to the bigger cities, you’re more likely benefit from roomier homes as well as increased standards of living, as hard-earned money tends to go a lot further outside the capital.
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Technology – the Life Line
We’ve known for a very long time that technology is a work necessity, but nothing has made this clearer than a global pandemic. But as well as keeping businesses running smoothly, technology has also been a life line – smart phones and the internet have gone a long way to keeping people’s mental health in check during these isolating times. After work drinks have been replaced by pub quizzes on HouseParty, Joe Wicks is keeping us fit, and virtual dinner parties and film nights have kept our social lives going. And I always say being engaged and well-balanced outside work is key for being happy and productive in your job.
Level Playing Field
COVID has sadly created myriad work worries, with many facing furlough, job losses and pay cuts. I am relieved, however, that the silver lining for many is waking up to a new way of independent and flexible working, one that many have chosen to embrace prior to the pandemic via the freelance route. The greatest thing about freelancing and working remotely, and using technology to enable this, is that it creates a level playing field – whatever your background, age or gender, you can successfully freelance, and the pandemic has accelerated this shift.
[1] According to a nationwide study by Instant Offices
About Alice Weightman
Alice is a talent expert and entrepreneur with 20 years’ experience of working with businesses to build high-performance teams across marketing and communications globally. She works with organisations advising on team structures; working with them to identify, acquire and retain the right talent that meets their ever-changing business needs.
Alice is founder and CEO of two award-winning talent companies: The Work Crowd, an online platform that helps businesses automate the sourcing and management of their freelance workforce and Hanson Search, an international search consultancy that specialises in marketing and communications recruitment. She is passionate about improving standards in recruitment and diversity in the workplace, being a fellow of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, member of 30% Club and an Ambassador to the Ideas Foundation. Alice was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2016 FSB London Business Awards, Noah Best start-up 2017 and Digital SME of the year at the Digi Awards 2017.
