Independent workers (freelancers, self-employed, etc.) consistently tell us they like the autonomy, control and flexibility independent work provides.
The National Journal article How Airbnb and Uber are Changing the Nature of Work explores one aspect of this - schedule control. Key quote:
It's hard to overstate how much an employee's control over his schedule, even if it's a small amount of leeway, changes the work experience. Almost three-quarters of adult workers (73 percent) said flexibility is "one of the most important factors they consider" when looking for a new job, according to a survey commissioned last year by the employment firm Mom Corps. (Other surveys put that figure as high as 87 percent.) Nearly half of the respondents in the Mom Corps survey (45 percent) said they would even be willing to relinquish some of their salaries for more flexibility.
But despite schedule control's importance, few traditional employees have much say over their work schedules.
As the article chart below shows, less than a quarter of full-time employees have substantial schedule control.
The data is, of course, very different for independent workers. Almost 75% of independent workers report having substantial or complete schedule control (data from the MBO Partners State of Independence studies).
Not surprisingly, among this group 86% reported being satisfied or highly satisfied with being independent and less than 5% said they would prefer having a traditional job.
Schedule control means greater work/life flexibility, something more an more people are looking for. This is one of the many reason we're forecasting continued independent workforce growth.
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