Companies provide financial benefits that now are the responsibility of the freelancer.
In this month’s employment number, one segment of the labor market grew by 55%. That of the incorporated self-employed worker.
The freelancer.
The LA Times reports that 14 million Americans are self-employed, up from 9 million. This change is due, in part, to the way the government is tracking the statistics… they’re now tracking “incorporated self-employed” workers as their own category.
The article highlights the trend, and points to companies who figure it’s cheaper to hire freelancers because they don’t have to pay health benefits. (I believe it’s not that simple, so please don’t read this post as a statement about healthcare costs!).
Regardless of why it’s happening, an article from last April speaks to this freelancing trend from the worker’s perspective… workers who face two choices: unemployment or self-employment.
Unemployment is not coming down anytime soon, if you’re out of work and not figuring out how to freelance you’re making a mistake.
It’s much bigger than the employee perspective of cost cutting. I’m a case study in the experience from the employee perspective. I simply wasn’t fulfilled in my job and I wasn’t having fun. Life’s too short, and I have a lot to offer. I’ve accomplished a lot, and if I can do it for someone else, I can to it for myself. So here I am.
Others have noticed this trend too… Pam Slim’s book “Escape from Cubicle Nation” (affiliate link) is a great book to get you fired up and realistic about what it takes to make a jump to self-employment. Pam’s website is full of great stuff, including a free monthly call to ask questions. If you’re considering the jump on your own, and want some inspiration I suggest following Pam, Willie, and Beth (along with myself) on Twitter for inspiration. These are people who’ve jumped out on their own with an idea and some energy. Even in their tweets you get a sense of what a career could be about… challenge, excitement, and growth.
Here’s my key observation about this trend. This is the take-away.
The company provides benefits that Americans have come to expect.
It also provides a social structure.
People who choose the freelance path need to build a balanced career that includes developing a social infrastructure. If not, you’ll be weird and lonely, and still have that feeling that something’s missing.
Companies also provide a social infrastructure that freelancers will need to create for themselves as part of building a fulfilling career.
People socialize with colleagues, and friends of colleagues. This socialization is important to our well being. Since our careers take up so much of our lives, the social infrastructure provided by our careers heavily influences the fulfillment we feel with life as a whole.
A client shared a story with me. She was working at UPS, and every year at Thanksgiving management would hand out turkeys to employees. It was an opportunity to bond. Management with management around manhandling turkeys. And management with employees as they engaged over the “hand-off”. Over time, to reduce costs, employees were mailed turkey certificates they could redeem at the local grocer. “To reduce costs.” Well, they also reduced a major benefit. That of socialization and building bonds between people.
As companies aggressively cut costs, they’ve cut out a lot that binds us socially at work.
This is leading to a very low level of employment satisfaction.
Employees are dissatisfied because there’s no balance at work anymore. The social infrastructure has been mercilessly cut.
How do you find balance in your life when you career has turned into a job? When you used to go into an office, in addition to a paycheck and benefits you had time for building friendships, attending social-work activities, having random conversations leading to the cross-polination of ideas, and so on.
As a general rule we’re missing the tools to create a social career on our own. In fact we have no precedence to even realize it’s a part of our life that we’ll need to nurture and cultivate if we leave the corporate environment. Or, even if we stay and corporations don’t get back on track.
Ling Wong, a holistic health coach and founder of Thoughts for Foods, and I will be delivering a web seminar on personal fulfillment and career growth. We’ll be helping you understand why the lack of career fulfillment is so prevalent, and share concrete (healthy) steps you can take to create a more fulfilled career.
Whether you’re on your own, thinking about going out on your own, or just want to find some more fulfillment at your corporate job… why not come and have a listen?
We don’t have a date yet, but please join our (free) mailing list so and I’ll let you know the schedule.
I don’t send many newsletters our, so your inbox won’t be swamped. And you can unsubscribe easily at any time.
Images courtesy of the Freelancers’ Union, an organization promoting fair treatment and representation of Freelancers, and providing insurance options for the self-employed.
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