Advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelancer
The trend of working as a freelancer has come to stay, however, despite the fact that we are all aware of the undoubted growth that this work modality has cultivated around the world in recent years, especially in 2020, there are still many questions about this form of Employment that increasingly resembles a new lifestyle has many advantages, but there are also disadvantages to consider. If you really want to know what are the advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelancer, then you are going to know them.
Advantages of working as a freelance
Everyone has ever dreamed of living off a freelance job. If you need more reasons to fall in love with the lifestyle and freelance work, these are the main advantages that you should know about the type of employment that is shaking the work context:
Flexible and adjustable schedule to your needs
The pressure that a boss is always behind you to verify that you have met the schedule completely ends when you enter the freelance life.
This can have great benefits if you are a student, have children, like to travel, or have several simultaneous responsibilities, since it is a way to organize your work on a personalized, comfortable schedule and in favor of your needs and obligations, without fear of committing a fault.
While the traditional work model promotes the mandatory fulfillment of a full day, something that does not convince us, usually 8 hours, when working as a freelance, you have absolute flexibility and you will be able to carry out a routine that better favors your productivity and at the same time allows you to fulfill the other activities that make up your life beyond work.
Possibility of working from home or from anywhere in the world
If you like being at home or on the contrary, you have a wanderlust spirit that fills you with the desire to travel the world and travel constantly, an advantage of working freelance is that you have no excuses to achieve what you set out to do, in this case … what do you choose? Stay at home or have adventures abroad? Leave us a comment.
While working for a traditional company, you find yourself tied to a limited vacation period to be able to rest and/or go on a trip, freelance work gives you the freedom to exercise your professional activity from anywhere where you have access to a computer and Internet connection, so only you choose the destination of your choice, either from the comfort of your desk or in a coworking in Thailand like a good digital nomad.
Saving time and money on travel
The expense of money and time generated by the process of commuting daily from your home to the workplace (and vice versa), may not be perceived latently in the day today, but over time, the impact that They have on your pocket and energy is much bigger than you imagine.
Have you ever thought about how much money you spend commuting or how many hours a day you find yourself stuck in traffic or riding public transport to get to your job and then on the way home?
Unless you are lucky enough to work very close to where you live, it will most likely not be just a few minutes, luckily, as a bonus when working as a freelancer, this does not happen.
Free choice about the clients with whom you collaborate
Especially if you have experience over time and many clients trust your work, developing a professional career in a freelance mode will have the advantage (and the luxury!) Of choosing which projects and clients you want to collaborate with. , opening up greater possibilities to direct you or specialize in a unique area and always adjustable to your preferences.
Unlike the traditional work model, here you will not have the obligation to bind yourself to the conditions that the company places, although that does not mean that you can pass over your clients, but that you will have more freedom to decide with which projects to link and which ones it is. better to leave in the hands of other professionals.
Job opportunities for people with difficulty or inability to move around
Living conditions are different for each person, not everyone can access the same opportunities; However, one of the advantages of working as a freelancer is the possibility of helping the labor reintegration of people with problems when moving from one place to another, whether due to health issues, social difficulties, economic reasons or the need to respond to other priorities in their daily time (for example: caring for children, relatives, studies, etc ...). This time, mobility impediments are no longer an excuse.
Access to a higher number of options
While in the traditional work model you are simply forced to limit yourself to the job offers available in your locality, when working as a freelancer, the doors of the world open before you with the possibility of collaborating with a large number of clients who do not They are tied to a geographic region, therefore the opportunities expand.
In addition, the web platforms that promote remote employment and freelance work in their different categories are also constantly growing, so that every day there are fewer difficulties in approaching job opportunities that do not stop increasing thanks to the popularity of this modality professional.
Greater possibilities of living off your passion and / or creating your own business
If you dream of living off your passion instead of settling for an eight-hour job doing repetitive activities or activities that you don't like, another advantage of working as a freelancer is that it teaches you the ways to make money doing what you really like, either programming, designing, writing, speaking languages, teaching, etc ... It is very difficult to find freelancers who are not currently doing what they are passionate about.
In addition, if your thing is to undertake, freelance work this is not only an activity reserved for figures recognized for their high resources and investment capacity but also anyone with a computer, internet access, and good professional skills channeled in the context digital, he is able little by little, to develop his own business via the internet under a freelance employment modality.
Disadvantages of working as a freelance
The advantages of working as a freelancer are unmatched, but that doesn't mean they don't come at a price that you sometimes have to pay.
Realistically, there are also some disadvantages of freelance employment that you should know, not in order to get away from it, but to be more prepared and familiar with the necessary strategies to reduce the negative impact and live your profession as a freelancer in a healthier and more healthy way. positive.
Little separation and balance between work and personal life
Although for some people have made the transition to freelance work translates into greater possibilities of balancing work and personal life, for others, the fact that both develop within the same environment can bring disconnection problems that will need to be addressed before that consequences leave a mark.
If you want this not to be a disadvantage of working as a freelancer, it is very important to establish defined hours and spaces to work and others to carry out your personal activities, avoiding falling into situations where these are linked.
Feeling of isolation or loneliness
If you are usually a person who enjoys socializing, it may be that when working as a freelancer you begin to miss that typical atmosphere of office companionship or the possibility of daily socializing in a common environment, where a conversation or the possibility of carrying out activities is always active. extras like going for coffee or chatting on the break.
Remember that if you want this disadvantage not to affect you in your days as a freelance or self-employed worker, you must balance your work life with your social life very well, avoiding losing contact with those friends that make you spend pleasant moments of disconnection.
Risk of falling into a sedentary lifestyle
When it comes to talking about the advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelancer, not everyone enters the bag, there are very physically active people for whom this does not represent a disadvantage if you do not usually leave home on a regular basis, and also start To work as a freelancer, the fact of having the possibility of working remotely and without having to go anywhere, can generate an effect of an increase in sedentary lifestyle, spending too much time in the chair in front of the computer and experiencing the derived health complications.
Remember to always take time and space to stretch your body a bit, go for a walk around your area and do some physical activity. This is the best way to get back with batteries (and body!) With double power.
Excess of responsibilities with little or no possibility of delegation
Working as a freelancer offers you the possibility of being your own boss; however, unless you've hired your own team of freelancers, you're unlikely to have the ease of delegating tasks at first. Now the responsibilities are all yours and this can be a disadvantage when it comes to overwork.
If you are still not clear about organization, prioritization, and time management methods, task overruns and meeting overtime work can be another disadvantage of working as a freelancer.
Avoiding it will largely depend on how well your levels of self-discipline, organization, and productive time management are in good condition.
Possible unstable periods of income
Working as a freelancer does not automatically give you opportunities to work with multiple clients throughout the year and have a stable or fixed amount of income over time, in fact, it may be the opposite, especially if you just you are taking your first steps through this type of employment.
The workflow could be intermittent; There will be periods where projects will arrive one after another and you will even celebrate the workload, but you could also go through times where you have few or no requests left and the responsibility of constantly looking for new opportunities depends solely on you and the effort that you put to improve your work and your value proposition for potential customers.
This can be seen as both advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelancer since these periods of time can be used to recover energy or that trip that you have always wanted.
Obligation to be responsible for taxes and regulations
Working as a freelancer is living your life walking through hundreds of laws, bureaucracy, procedures, and tedious regulations that at first you will not fully understand.
While in the traditional model of work, your employer is the most responsible for attending to these types of matters, when working as a freelancer, only you must take charge of consulting with a professional, issuing invoices or receipts, organizing your income, paying taxes when day and be aware of all new regulations and modifications that may arise in public institutions.
Lack of sick leave for personal or health reasons
Although flexibility is still present as much as possible, as a disadvantage when working as a freelance, there are days when having a personal problem or being sick no longer give you the right to "request a leave of absence" to rest or attend to other matters, since you will have commitments or responsibilities with your clients that in some cases cannot be postponed.
Even so, we invite you to always prioritize your personal life and health overwork, and in case of entering situations where, due to force majeure, you cannot attend to a work responsibility, kindly communicate it to your clients.
And you? Are you freelance or have you considered the possibility of working in this modality?
What advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelancer have impacted your life?
We read you in the comments!
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