State of Freelancing Report

The “Great Resignation” trend, the movement where employees are voluntarily leaving their jobs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is being driven in large part to workers who seek to gain greater flexibility of how and where they work, and as a result greatly enhancing one’s overall mental wellbeing, according to the new GrowTal “The State of Freelancing” report.

GrowTal, the marketplace for hiring top-level marketing professionals most quickly and efficiently, today announced its findings from its first-ever survey of marketing freelancers. The firm asked hundreds of freelancers to respond to a number of questions that pertained to both freelancers and marketing freelancers.

The main findings from the GrowTal “The State of Freelancing Report” included:

• 51% of marketing freelancers surveyed agree that finding new opportunities has been easy during the pandemic compared to 37% of skilled service freelancers, who would say the same
• 85% of freelancers surveyed believe the freelancing world will continue to grow and become more and more common in the future
• 72% of women freelancers and 64% of men freelancers surveyed say their overall mental wellbeing has improved since freelancing
• 50% of freelancers surveyed say they voluntarily quit their traditional job to pursue freelance work
• 40% of freelancers are not interested in returning to a traditional full-time job, while 37% say the opposite
• 60% of marketing freelancers surveyed found that marketing platforms like UpWork, Fiverr, and GrowTal to be very effective in finding freelance work
• 45% of freelancers surveyed support laws that reclassify freelancers as employees that come along with benefits and stability

Flexibility Over Work Schedule
Independence and autonomy over your professional career are some of the most attractive qualities for working freelance. Two-thirds (65%) of freelancers were motivated to pursue freelance because it provides flexibility to manage their own time, making this the number one motivator. This is followed by the ability to make decisions for yourself, rather than at an employer's discretion (48%), and the opportunity to pursue your passion (37%).

Great Resignation Trend
Nearly all (97%) freelancers have experience in the traditional workforce, either having worked a full or part-time job. And the choice to pursue freelance is often deliberate and self-directed, with half (50%) of freelancers voluntarily quitting their traditional job to pursue freelance. So the question becomes: once they leave the traditional workforce, will freelancers ever want to go back?

Return to Full-Time Employment
Freelancers are nearly split on interest in leaving their freelance work to focus on a traditional, full-time job entirely – 37% are interested in doing this, while 40% are not. Younger freelancers tend to be more interested in traditional work – two-fourths (44%) of those aged 18-34 are interested in this, while just over one in ten (14%) of those aged 55+ are interested in traditional work. With most of their careers ahead of them, it makes sense younger age groups are contemplating traditional jobs.

State Laws About Freelancers
Certain states are considering laws that reclassify freelancers as employees covered by certain benefits, such as minimum wage, overtime, worker's compensation, etc. One aspect of these laws that freelancers support: the benefits and stability that could come with them. Over two-fifths (45%) support these laws for this reason, while one in five (21%) don't, and one third (34%) neither agree nor disagree.

Although freelancers are in favor of benefits, they don't necessarily want this to be the result of a government mandate. Over three in five (62%) agree that freelance was a personal decision, and the government shouldn't classify them as an employee. However, the same proportion (62%) are worried these laws will discourage companies from working with freelancers, and half (47%) feel these types of laws are an infringement on their autonomy, while one in five (18%) don't feel this way.

“The results from this survey reinforce the importance of our mission. Freelancing gives people the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to a business's goals while allowing for the flexibility of remote and project-based work that is so important to their mental health. We are excited to bring a solution to market that will give our GrowTal experts the stability they need to leverage freelancing as a viable alternative to full-time employment,” said Bryan Karas, CEO and Founder, GrowTal.

“I love freelancing because it gives me flexibility but also because of the variety of projects I can work on. I feel like I’m constantly expanding my skill set and learning new industries and companies. After years as a full-time employee, I really appreciate the opportunity to learn so quickly and apply my experience in new places. Because the nature of work and teams are changing pretty quickly, many companies are embracing flexibility, and opportunities for freelancers are expanding,” said Susan Mees, Founder, Susan Mees Consulting, and Marketing Freelancer, GrowTal.

To download the full report, visit ​​www.growtal.com/the-state-of-freelancing.