As a Futurist, I often get asked, “what is the future of work?”. To help answer that, a trend I’ve been tracking closely over the past decade is the freelance movement – that is, a host of workers leaving their full time gigs in favour of a freelance lifestyle. A trend that’s been emerging for over a decade now, the freelance movement picked up even more steam during the pandemic and continues to flourish. This blog post explores what’s driving the freelance movement and where it’s headed as we settle into an endemic state of affairs.
What’s driving the freelance movement?
Overall, we’re seeing a shift towards workers desiring more freedom, flexibility and control over when and where they’re working; values that are punctuated amongst the Millennials and Gen Z’ers. These are the same values have also driven the digital nomadic movement that’s grown over the past decade - that is workers who move around frequently, working virtually from a variety of cities and places.
The freelance lifestyle means you control your own schedule, design your day, and are ultimately in control of your income. You choose the number of projects you engage in, along with your rates and other conditions that may be important. On the flip side, you are also solely responsible for driving business to your service or product, a challenge some embrace while others shy away from.
Freelancers come in many forms, including Consultants, Contractors, Solopreneurs, Service Providers and even Influencers, but they are all entrepreneurs, in charge of paving their own path.
Sources: Flexiple.com and Upwork.com
What’s the outlook for the freelance movement?
The freelance workforce is only expected to gain momentum in the years ahead. In fact, the mix of freelancers in the workforce are expected to outweigh the “full time employee” mix by 2027. The data to the right shows the growth of US freelancers as a percent of the total workforce. The figure increased from 28% to 36% from 2019 to 2020 (Upwork.com) and is expected to reach an abundant 51% by 2027.
Does generation play a role in the freelance movement?
Across generations, we’re seeing a trend towards people choosing to freelance, however it seems to be distorted amongst specific generations, including millennials and Generation Z. These generations will fuel the freelance economy.
What opportunities does the freelance movement create for business and organizations?
The freelance movement creates opportunities for brands and organizations of all sizes to extend their talent pools, attract innovative and new ways of thinking and create agile workforces that they can expand and contract as needed. In some cases, organizations can also reduce their costs through hiring from the freelance pool.
What’s the future of the freelance movement?
The future of the freelance movement is incredibly healthy, presenting opportunities for organizations to fill the skill gap and create an agile workforce that meets the modern day worker exactly where they are.
About the author
Lindsay is a Canadian-American growth strategist and futures expert who provides growth and advisory services to purpose-driven brands. Named a global innovation leader and Women to Watch, you will find her at the intersection of strategy, story-telling and innovation. When she’s not collaborating with clients, she’s hitting TEDx and other stages across North America to deliver keynotes on the future of consumerism, strategy and innovation. Prior to advising and providing brand and marketing consulting services, Lindsay spent six years at lululemon crafting their global growth strategy, exploring new marketplace opportunities and growing the company into the number one yoga wear player in the world. Her experiences culminate in what she refers to as her sweet spot - where strategy, innovation and insights intersect, where the rational meets the emotive, where facts meet insights and where logic meets creativity.
