Embracing Freelancers Could Be the Key to Success in the COVID-19 Era

In the context of an economy reeling from COVID-19, freelancing and the gig economy now mean something quite different to many people. Millions of people have lost their jobs, which has resulted in a surge of individuals looking to part-time and gig work to make ends meet. The future of remote work is now one of the most discussed topics as businesses are being forced to reevaluate hiring strategies.

The fresh wave of discussion surrounding the gig economy has left many questioning what the future of gig work will look like.

We decided to ask our user base of gig economy workers how they feel about the state of their work. The results of our survey were thought-provoking and revealed that 85% of respondents prefer to be categorized as a freelancer as opposed to a contractor or employee, among other fascinating aspects.

Here’s a look at other key findings:

Age:

• 60% of respondents between the age of 18 and 34 use freelance work as their primary source of income.
• 65% of respondents between the age of 35 and 44 use freelance work as their primary source of income.
• 61% of respondents between the age of 45 and 54 use freelance work as their primary source of income
• 60% of respondents above the age of 55 use freelance work as their secondary source of income.

Income:

• 57% of respondents work in the freelance gig economy as their primary source of income.
• 43% of respondents work in the freelance gig economy as their secondary source of income.

Career:

• 61% of respondents have been freelancing for more than five years.
• 85% of respondents prefer to be categorized as a freelancer.
• 97% of respondents see freelancing as a long-term choice (lasting more than a year).
• 30% of respondents say their main reason for freelancing is the freedom to choose their own jobs.
• 29% of respondents say their main reason for freelancing is the flexibility in their schedule.

Freelancing amid COVID-19:

• 42% of respondents say their freelance has remained the same since COVID-19.
• 40% of respondents say they have received less freelance work since COVID-19.

If you’ve never considered using freelancers because the risk seemed to outweigh the reward, working with a third-party freelance service can alleviate some of the stress. The bottom line is standard recruiting confines startups to hiring employees for only one specific area or field. However, embracing the use of freelancers gives startups the ability to cut down on overhead costs and grow their market by unlocking a diverse field of workers with a range of experience, education and skill to fit any project need.

Since 2020, Santiago Jaramillo has been the CEO of Bunny Studio, an on-demand fulfillment platform for creative services. Between 2018 and 2019, he structured and led Emma Group, a venture studio with a successful track record of entrepreneurs. Between 2012 and 2018, Santiago was the COO of Bunny Studio. Before that, he co-founded two companies in the education sector. Moreover, Jaramillo has been an Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2016. He holds a degree in economics. Since 2015, he has been an advocate of remote-first companies.