BUSINESS | REMOTE WORKING

Freelancers Will Be Important for a Quick Recovery

How the gig economy will fuel an economic resurgence

The world is in the midst of economic armageddon. “Another 4.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment claims in the week ending April 18th” as unemployment soared beyond 20%. This is now “the highest level since 1934” (Lambert, 2020).

Last month the Irish economic research body, the ESRI, said the economy won't bounce back. They warned that the economy would shrink by 10.6 percent with “unemployment peaking at 22% and a budget deficit of €23bn as the country enters a severe recession” (Morohan, 2020).

That may be so, but only time will tell.

Remote Working

Thousands of layoffs coupled with an increase in remote work­ing, triggered by Covid-19, will prompt professionals to reevaluate their work and explore their options to ply their trade independently going forward.

If anything, the recent pandemic has taught us that work is something we do, not a place we go. This will encourage many to look at freelancing work or pro­fessional contracting as a solution to improve their work-life balance.

The gig economy is a term we’ve become accustomed to, but it's not participated in by the masses, as it was widely misunderstood.

The pandemic is changing this perception.

Then there’s a new term, ‘the project economy’. The self-employed community who are finding new forms of work, remotely.

Project Economy

So, what is the project economy?

According to a report by Andrew Burke, published by the CSRE last year, the ‘Project economy’ attracts skilled freelance workers, five times more than it does gig freelancers.

The larger project econ­omy will play a vital role in driving the recovery and productivity of the wider economy.

Burke noted that “highly skilled freelanc­ers, including managers, directors, professionals and associate profession­als, are by far the most productive part of the self-employed sector. They contribute substan­tially to the economy every year and earn more than twice that of equivalent employees.”

Project economy workers are not substitutes for or competitors to existing staff, rather freelancers that complement oth­er employees. This is not their objective, they freelance by choice.

“In fact, these freelancers cause net employment creation and there is both statistical and case-study evidence to back this up.” (Burke, 2020)

Freelancers help growth. Businesses are more confident bidding for contracts that “they might oth­erwise turn down” due to resource constraints.

Freelancers bring resources on demand.

Project freelancers are highly skilled pros, helping businesses “to navigate peaks and troughs in demand, thereby boost­ing productivity.” (Burke, 2020)

Research

The report discovered “that firms prosper when they are able to tap into human resourc­es beyond the confines of their employees” (Burke, 2020).

Many businesses are em­bracing a flexible expertise approach. Project freelancers can test early-stage services or products prior to market launch. Success­ful projects lead to more employment when initiatives are scaled up.

Burke’s re­search also found that skilled free­lancers are “overwhelmingly positive” in the workplace, an ideal fit for “digital tech­nology and new product development” (Burke, 2020).

Technology-led evaluation

Thousands of layoffs coupled with an increase in remote work­ing, due to Covid-19, will prompt many professionals to reevaluate their work, explore their options in a post-lockdown world.

Technology is the oil of the 21st century. That’s clear for all to see; after all, it enabled an instant switch from office to home.

Final Thoughts

Rapid change is happening all around us, this will amplify the demand for project professionals.

Professionals around the globe are ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of The Project Economy.

People-power will power The Project Economy. As we emerge from lockdown we can strengthen society from afar, enabling organizations to expand on-demand, turning ideas into reality.

References

• Lambert, L., 2020. Real Unemployment Rate Soars Past 20% — And The U.S. Has Now Lost 26.5 Million Jobs. [online] Fortune. Available at: https://fortune.com [Accessed 27 April 2020].
• Morahan, G., 2020. ‘A Much Starker Picture’ — ESRI Says Economy Won’t ‘Bounce Back’ When Restrictions Are Lifted. [online] Extra.ie. Available at: https://extra.ie [Accessed 27 April 2020].