Opportunity knocks for freelancers
SIGN OF THE TIMES: MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE ARE HOLDING DOWN TWO JOBS
Local companies must adapt to new ways.
In the past, the majority of adults in the workforce tended to look for a career that would see them through to retirement in their 60s. They were happy to work for one company for the duration of their working life. Times have changed. Today, we have an ageing Baby Boomer generation living longer and needing to work well past “retirement age”, and millennials wanting more independence, work satisfaction and variety.
High levels of debt see many, across the age groups, working more than one “job” to service debt and achieve the living standards they aspire to. At the same time, challenging economic times are seeing companies streamlining, getting leaner and looking at ways to reduce overheads.
All this has led to a new-look workforce, an unprecedented rise in the number of freelancers, “slashers” earning additional income over and above their main job, solopreneurs and the otherwise self-employed as independent contracting becomes a mainstream way of life. Adaptive business models are also emerging, which tap into what has been variously termed the freelance economy, gig economy and liquid workforce.
The future is now. Companies must adapt, just as they are having to do internationally. According to Upwork, the world’s largest freelancing website, the top drivers motivating people to go on their own are the desire to be their own boss, to choose when they work, to choose their own projects, to choose where they work and to earn extra money.
Business owners need to look at offering independent opportunities that suit this new spirit of independence, whether that’s allowing your sales force to work independently from home or remotely, or adapting franchise models to suit the new spirit of entrepreneurship. They must recognise and face the challenges of the future head-on and build organisations that will support the 21st-century workforce.
In Old Mutual’s latest Savings and Investment Monitor survey, while only 13% of respondents defined themselves as self-employed, 43% (up from 37% in 2017) of both young and older South Africans said they were generating additional income from work other than their main employment.
We are definitely seeing the rise of the solopreneur in SA, with more and more people leveraging their own skills, networks and technology to make a living on their own terms.