There is an increasing trend of people working from home or off-site, and more and more people are working as freelance consultants or contractors. Welcome to the Gig Economy – this population contributes US$1.4 trillion each year to the US economy through their freelance work (as of 2016 – Source: UpWork/Freelancers Union).
Advances in technology continue to facilitate flexible and remote work arrangements. By 2020, more than 40% of the US workforce is expected to be made up of freelancers. In comparison, Singapore’s freelancer workforce is currently standing at 10%; these workers often choose to enter the gig economy rather than the traditional workforce in order to exercise more autonomy and ownership over their work, as well as flexibility over their schedules.
In Singapore, you will also see a rising trend in platforms that match contract jobs to freelancers like Upwork, Fiverr, Gumtree and Freelancezone.
So, what are some of the “jobs” freelancers do?
- Photographer / Videographer
- Tutor
- Copywriter
- Web Designer
- Software Developer
- Trainers
- Driver (Grab, Go-Jek, etc)
- Personal Shopper
and more!
Employers benefit from financial savings with freelancers, and lower their risk. Freelancers use such flexible work arrangements to tide them over between jobs, to add to income, or just to bring sanity back to their lives. It’s hard to underestimate the power of perks like the ability to work around family and schedules, travel, or simply not having to worry about dress code at work.
So, does your company hire freelancers? If you do, what are some of the positives? Share your thoughts with us.