One day we may all be freelance

Freelancing used to be just a fancy word for temping. These days, going solo has fast become an attractive choice for those who want flexibility and opportunity when they get up in the morning

Do you want to be your own boss? If the answer"s yes, you"re not alone - the number of people choosing the freelancing life is soaring. Twenty per cent of us will be freelancers by 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics, with the current 16 per cent being the highest since records began. And this prediction could end up being modest, as the outlook for freelancing is much higher in the US. Intuit predicts a whopping 40 per cent of US workers will be independent by 2020.

Never before have we been so willing to go it alone in the world of work. In a 2015 survey by PeoplePerHour, 87 per cent of respondents said they would choose self-employment, spurred on by the promise of flexible hours, independence and potential for increased creativity and work satisfaction.

“The upside of freelancing is that people get different opportunities, experience on varied projects, and to meet new people. They also avoid the dreaded appraisal, and get to stay away from office politics,” says Shelley Kendrick, Director of Jersey-based recruitment firm Kendrick Rose.

 Naturally, with the upsides come the downsides. "Contractors are usually hired for projects where things can change, and they have to roll with that. They have to hit the ground running, as they"re on a daily rate. And when the work is gone, they have to get another contract," says Kendrick.

Freelancers are also responsible for their own benefits, such as sick pay, holiday pay and pensions. Overwhelmingly, PeoplePerHour found the main drawback to freelancing to be lack of stability and fluctuating income.

More freedom in exchange for less security has always been a key tenet of self-employment - and it"s clearly not putting people off if PeoplePerHour"s figures are anything to go by. So what"s driving the recent rise in freelancing?

There are a number of long-term societal trends at play - the rise of technology, the decline of jobs for life, weaker unions, higher qualifications among young people at a time when it"s harder for graduates to get work. 

All of these factors are creating disillusionment with the traditional model. The recession has a lot to answer for - cutbacks and zero-hour contracts meant freelancing became a last resort for some, while others decided to go it alone after being made redundant.

Everyone"s a winner

The sum total of all these factors means businesses now rely more than ever on non-permanent staff. But does that mean freelancing has become more respected? After all, it"s not that long ago that it used to be something you did if you couldn"t get a "real job".

Philip Dodson, Founder of London co-working space @Work Hubs, laughs as he admits that his mum, who wouldn"t dream of disturbing his brother at the office, frequently calls him in the middle of the day. "But I do think freelancing is starting to be seen as more respectable, and something more people would actually like to be doing," he says.

@Work Hubs, which caters to independent workers and small businesses, has several tenants who work in tech, but there are plenty of other professions too - there"s even an independent finance director. Older, so-called "silver" freelancers are on the rise, Dodson has observed, but recent graduates make up a significant slice, as they increasingly opt for a career outside the corporate structure.

 While the pros and cons may be evident for the freelancer, businesses also benefit from this changing employment landscape. The ability to hire specialists with fresh ideas to work on projects as and when they"re needed is a key reason, says Jonathan Atkinson, CEO of business consultancy Greenlight.

"As organisations compete and innovate, their use of external contractors will increase," he says. But the attitude from businesses who hire them is mixed. "It ranges from resentment, at what people believe to be inflated day rates, to the other end of the spectrum where contractors are recognised for providing impartial advice. Contractors bear the scars of having already achieved what the employer needs elsewhere, and bring with them valuable lessons learned."

While the inherent lack of stability is a drawback for some, other freelancers revel in it. Atkinson believes contract work is popular among people who thrive on change.

Running your own operation can mean making more money than working for someone else, although the average freelancer isn"t actually earning that much. In 2014, when the average UK salary was £27,200, PeoplePerHour found that UK freelancers made just shy of £20,000.

It should be noted that the majority of respondents to this study were under 35, but it"s true that freedom can come at a cost. "People in the corporate world, tired of working on someone else"s dream, may like the romantic idea of breaking off," says Dodson. But freelancers often end up making less money because they compete on price for the same old work they did as employees. "The best freelancers are those who do something different. That way, they"re not compromising on value," he adds.

Sense of community

The fact is that not everyone who works for themselves is an entrepreneur. Some people are self-employed because they have no choice - maybe their profession runs on contract work or it"s harder to get a salaried position. People working on laptops in cafÉs may be a popular image of freelancing, but the most common self-employment professions are construction, taxi-driving, and carpentry. And if the barista at that cafÉ is on a zero-hours contract, they"re something of a freelancer too - arguably not a happy one.

The emergence of communities such as @Work Hubs is a response to the fact that going it alone can be difficult even for the most motivated freelancer. WeWork is a New York-based workspace company that"s now opening its eighth space in London, having arrived in the UK less than two years ago.

"I think this is less about "going to an office", and more about going to an inspiring environment that breathes energy and vitality into the workday," says Hillary Deppeler, Brand Manager at WeWork. Freelancers and small businesses can rent space at WeWork on a month-to-month basis - useful for growing startups or people with irregular incomes. WeWork now has more than 5,300 members in London. "Our spaces, besides being visually compelling and comfortable, are primarily designed to encourage connectivity among our members," says Deppeler.

For some people, however, the ability to work from anywhere is the big draw of self-employment. That"s the case for Alex Flewitt, a digital marketing freelancer on Alderney. "The best thing about moving into freelance work on Alderney is that I can make my own rules. I can be flexible - if I want to work extra and take the following day off, I can. I feel very lucky," she says.

Flewitt started freelancing about six months ago, keen to be her own boss. She"d also been contacted by potential clients looking for help with marketing or social media, from both the Channel Islands and the UK. "The internet on Alderney is pretty good, so I can work very easily without worrying about my location. I have to take occasional trips off island for business, but mostly I work via Skype with my clients," she says.

The Channel Islands pull in talent from far and wide and it"s the same with freelancers, says Kendrick. She points to the strict residency rules affecting contract workers, which means hiring someone on just a three-month contract isn"t that cut and dried. “You can get freelancers from the UK, and lots of businesses do, but it"s costly - you have the flights and accommodation, plus the higher rates of a contractor,” she says. But Kendrick acknowledges that having access to more remote freelancers could be a positive for the skills gap on the Channel Islands.

Atkinson of Greenlight concurs: "For some complex undertakings, the Channel Islands will inevitably have to look to the UK for experience." The key, he concludes, is to make sure this imported experience is passed on to the company"s full-time employees.