Freelance and Careers

In The National Post article “If the 'gig economy' is booming, why is 'freelance' still considered a dirty word associated with failure?” Sabrina Maddeaux discusses the growing number of freelancers, opposed to traditional employees, in the U.S. and Canada, especially among younger workers aged 18-34.  She postulates that inadequate benefits, job security, and room for advancement are the driving factors behind this trend, not merely financial compensation.  She also notes that our current society does not yet value freelancing as a suitable career option, often associating it with being unemployable or otherwise lacking work ethic. She concludes that, while freelancing has its own unique set of problems, it is becoming a viable alternative that does not deserve its current negative stigma.    

Regardless of stereotypes, it is important to be aware of the growing sector of freelancers, contractors, or other contingent workers, as their high numbers reshaping our economy and society as a whole.  Some workers become freelancers or contractors by choice, while many fall into this category as a consequence of failing to secure other permanent employment.  According to Maddeaux, “freelancing isn’t the result of entitlement – but a reaction to an unstable and increasingly oppressive corporate world.”  Whether or not this sentiment is true, she cites an estimate that half of the U.S. workforce will be freelance by 2020, and mentions other authorities who foresee the same fate in Canada.  From the workers’ perspective, there are a number of problems associated with this future.  Contingent work positions are temporary in nature, do not offer traditional job security, and are often excluded from work legislation (Dessler & Chhinzer, 2016, p. 18).  While being a freelancer can seem liberating, it comes with its own set of hardships, such as managing taxes and C.P.P. contributions, and foregoing all paid sick-leave and paid vacation.  Freelance work also adds considerable stress from moving job to job, or as Maddeaux describes it, “this terrifying abyss between deciding to take your career into your own hands and achieving a vague definition of stability.”  The one certainty, however, is that freelancing and other contingent work will become the new normal for a large (perhaps even majority) of our future workforce.     

From a human-resource-management perspective, contingent work simultaneously cures and creates many problems.  On one hand, human-resource-management is heavily concerned with cultivating and retaining talent, providing incentives for better performance, and using metrics to measure productivity.  Contingent workers, however, are mainly hired as a cost-saving measure, with far less emphasis placed on long-term retention.  In fact, many organizations do not have adequate HR programs to manage their contract workers. 

In the short term, there is little doubt of the cost-savings that contingent workers can bring.  What then, are the long-term costs for the company and its HR policies?  For traditional employees the cost of vacancy, replacing and retraining can be as high as triple their annual salary (Dessler & Chhinzer, 2016, p. 153).   While not always applicable to contingent workers, a high turnover may nonetheless have negative hidden costs.  Contingent workers, no matter how highly skilled, will require some training and adaptation to a new position.  They may also require additional resources from other branches of the company (such as the HR and IT departments), which adds further hidden costs to their hire.  Regardless of the negative aspects, contingent work remains a favorable strategy for maintaining company efficiency.  

Contingent workers, however, are not the only group experiencing an upheaval in their traditional career paths.  “Job transitions are more frequent, therefore occupational prospects and linear career patterns lose definability and predictability” (Dessler & Chhinzer, 2016, p. 205).  Even as full-time employees, modern workers have lower expectations about retention and promotion.  Consequently, many contingent and non-contingent workers have developed their own counter-strategy against the ongoing quest for company efficiency.  “A new concept of career development [has] emerged, in which the primary stakeholder of a career is the person, not the organization."

Whether positive or negative, HR policy must adapt to the growing number of freelance, contract, and other contingent workers.  Many HR strategies already encompass the idea of being more holistic and identifying “career anchors” and “life trajectories” as part of a career path (Dessler & Chhinzer, 2016, p. 207).  These policies must become inclusive of contingent workers, and cognizant of their unique relationship to the company.  For example, Maddeaux cites one of the hardest elements of being a freelancer as simply “getting paid,” since many companies take longer to process payments of freelance workers.  Therefore, a company can greatly improve relations with its freelance personnel by implementing a faster payment processing system.  Contingent workers often experience gaps in their work cycles, and HR departments could utilize this time by offering further on-the-job training or e-learning applications.  In general, the HR department should focus on long-term worker development, despite the fact that these workers may only interact with the company for short periods of time.     Through such a process, the HR department can continue to build detailed profiles of their workers, reward top performers with extra work or benefits, and further improve efficiency.   From the contingent workers’ perspective, the added stability and job satisfaction from such measures, no matter how small, can mean a great deal to their morale and quality of life.  

Works Cited

Maddeaux, Special to National Post, (2016, August 12). If the 'gig economy' is booming, why is   'freelance' still considered a dirty word associated with failure? Retrieved September 13, 2016, from http://news.nationalpost.com/life/if-the-gig-economy-is-booming-why-is-freelance-still-considered-a-dirty-word-associated-with-failure 

Dessler, G., & Chhinzer, N. (2016). Human resources management in Canada (13th Canadian Edition ed.). Toronto, ON: Pearson.