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Will Freelancing Become More of a Trend Post-COVID?
Words Nothando Mpala
For the last couple of months, the whole world has been on stand still due to the coronavirus pandemic which surfaced late last year. Since Cov-19 started, it has caused a disaster in the global job market leaving numerous people across the world unemployed, furloughed or working at home remotely. Freelance Events Coordinator, Nothando Mpala explains why freelancing will become increasingly popular Post-COVID.
Amid all this calamity the freelance market has somehow survived better than most by having an increase in job opening of over 25% during April to June (Q2) according to freelancer’s fast 50 report. As employers re-examine their budgets and most of the workforce remains working from home, will freelancing become more of a trend in the job market post Covid 19?
Ever since the start of COV-19, we have had a death toll of over 600,000 people worldwide, making it immediately clear that the pandemic is a moment in history like many other epidemics a hundred of years before. Equally as the number of deaths continue to increase the impact on the economy continue to leave the future of most businesses uncertain forcing many employers to reduce their workforce.
The economic downturn has certainly triggered the need for more freelance workers as well as encouraged more of an entrepreneurial culture in the job market. Covid has pushed many companies to adapt to a new way of working as working from home has become the ‘new normal.’ In addition, organisations have also been pushed to provide their employees with a digital set-up that allows them to interact with their team members virtually. Overnight many businesses across the world have had to adjust to new technology and the shift from white-collar jobs to more of a gig economy.
As a result, more people across the globe are now thinking about finding additional ways to make an income in the comfort of their own home due to the lack of vacancies. According to Freelancer's CEO Matt Barrie “there will be a permanent step change in both working from home and the use of freelancers by businesses as employers re-evaluate budgets and opt for a more flexible workforce. While Covid-19 has been the trigger of the already upward trending freelancer movement, this exponential growth can also be attributed to the strong demand for individuals to finally start their own freelance enterprise, work on their own terms and supplement their income.”
Furthermore, even though a countless number of companies had got bad media coverage for letting many of their employees go. Situations like this will only create more opportunities for companies to rethink new ways of preventing such incidents from happening in future. The Hindi Business Line article raised an argument that “If 50 percent of employers were freelance project-based hires the burden of responsibility would. Moreover, the cost savings accrued by hiring experts for a project rather than have full-time workers is undeniable.” On the other hand, many employees would rather have the security of working on a full-time contract with benefits rather than going through the struggle of finding their own clients. Alternatively, being a freelancer means that you don't necessarily have to start a business and employ staff. You can work for yourself, create your own working hours/pay rate and enjoy the independence that is normally not granted as an employee.
According to the figures published by the Association of Independent Professionals and self-Employed (IPSE) in 2018, there were around two million freelance workers in the UK, with most of them working on a full-time basis. As the number of freelancers continues to grow there has been several organisations who are more inclined to outsourcing their workload to freelancers rather than taking in staff. With the growth in technology, businesses in theory can grow quicker by having a more flexible workforce of skilled people. Freelance in the past has been used for more creative roles such as graphic & web design, copywriting and events. In today economy, freelancers can be used to cover any type of role.
Though the job market is likely to remain unpredictable for some time, there are many industries such as healthcare, online services and as well as technology that are still on the lookout for more freelance workers.
Then again, will having a freelance workforce be good enough to create a sustainable economy? Founder and CEO of the Future Strategy Club, Justin Small stated “that there are a number of creative agencies he has set out to create that can provide a range of agency services, using freelancers rather than full- time employees. It is a cheaper option for a business and its client!”
In conclusion, it is evident that the global job market as we know it is changing very rapidly and the face of employment is not what it used to be. Due to the pandemic many companies have turned in their corporate way of thinking to adapt to the times of online working. Today, the freelance online job market continues to flourish despite the global challenges.
