Why Millennials Are Ditching Office Work In Favour Of Going Freelance
People working. It keeps our hospitals open, food in our cupboards and clothes on our backs. Yet, unlike our ancestors who worked a 9-5 shift religiously, millennials seem to be ditching normal working hours. All in favour of freelance work.
This is all been made possible with the help of computers and the internet. Freelancers have a lot more freedom than people working in traditional hours. As they can choose which hours they want to spend working.
Perhaps that’s why tons of them are packing in their normal jobs and going freelance. Below details why freelancing is attracting so many millennials!
Tiredness
It’s no secret that working full time leaves the majority of people feeling wiped out by Friday afternoon. Continually, working 9-5 leaves people feeling stagnated. Workers simply feel as if they are going through the motions and it doesn’t leave much time for self-care or other responsibilities. Instead, people run themselves ragged, in the evening.
This constant pace is hard to keep up. Which is why many members of the workforce are left feeling exhausted by the weekend. They spend their time off simply preparing for Monday morning, where it all begins again. Therefore, millennials are leaving these tiring hours in favour of freelance ones.
Limitless Â
If you have a traditional job, you are stuck to the confines of that building. As a freelancer, all you require is a computer and an internet connection. Meaning, it can be done anywhere in the world. As many millennials have bucket lists as long as their arms, many choose to freelance because they can travel at the same time.
The prospect of being stuck at a desk for eight hours – with co-workers you’d rather avoid – is debilitating. What makes this new world exciting? It’s the possibilities. By travelling and freelancing, you automatically open yourself up to multiple opportunities.
Goodbye to Management
Due to workplace hierarchy, some of us find ourselves taking orders from someone we don’t necessarily like or respect. Yet, we have to suck it up simply because they are our boss. By working at the bottom of the ladder, you can often see the issues that are present; that management can’t. Yet, you can’t say anything because they will see it as insubordination.
Choosing freelance work means you can be your own boss. You aren’t restricted to rotational shifts, boss’s orders or company targets. Many millennials are choosing to ditch office work because they don’t want to answer to anyone but themselves.
Options
Many of our parents would call us crazy, if we were to arrive home, saying we quit our jobs to freelance. They don’t understand that we don’t have as many responsibilities as they did. Millennials are the generation that hasn’t secured roots due to the stunted economy. We don’t have mortgages, people are waiting longer to have kids and a university degree doesn’t guarantee employment anymore.
We have the option to travel and work for ourselves because essentially we have nothing to lose. If we fail, our parents would welcome us back to the familial home. Essentially, freelance work gives millennials more options than a dead-end job in their hometown. Â
Flexibility
Many people crave flexibility in their working and social lives. That is why the 9-5 shift doesn’t fit with the majority of millennials schedules. People forget that some individuals are creative thinkers and cannot conform to normal working schedules. Their brains don’t function at certain times of the day.
Some individuals are focussed in the morning but others –mainly creatives- come alive at night. The basic working schedule doesn’t allow them the time to do their best work. That’s why many writers and artists choose to work freelance.
Freedom
Ultimately, freelance work is the only type of employment that lets you graft on your own terms. You pick your location, working hours and jobs. It fills millennials with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. They are seizing and creating opportunities, networking whilst travelling and opening up to new experiences.
By being fully in charge of your own finances, it makes you hungry to work. Millennials who freelance grow up faster than if they were to follow orders from an employer. It certainly motivates them to work hard and play hard.
