Over the past year, the Great Resignation has hit the U.S. and global economy. A record-breaking number of employees have quit their jobs, across all sectors. But what exactly is driving this wave of resignations.
A term that you may be hearing these days is the ‘Great Resignation,’ coined by Anthony Klotz, a Texas A&M University professor. The Great Resignation describes a higher rate of attrition than statistically normal. There are many reasons that one may quit their job or why the numbers are abnormally high in 2022. The most compelling argument stems from the concept of realization.
Many people gained a clearer idea during the pandemic of what type of work environment they prefer and the balance for work/life or work versus life. For the first time, employees had an opportunity to evaluate first-hand what they value out of their work and life when forced to combine the two during the global pandemic. Pandemic experiences caused workers to reevaluate life priorities.
With this shift in employment came the growth in freelance and small-to-medium businesses (SMB) – be your own boss and build your own business. Let’s look at some industry data. A study from MBOfound that 82% of freelancers are happier working independently. This makes sense for many reasons:
- There is reduced dependency and stress on the freelancer to stick to one company. Therefore, freelancing can be less stressful as the fear of being dependent is greatly reduced.
- It has more earning potential since the freelancer can work with many companies.
- Freelancers love the additional freedom.
- Getting out of bed whenever you want and working a schedule of your choice is a benefit that not many traditional jobs bring.
Of course, freelancing isn’t for everyone, but these factors make it a little clearer why so many have been making the jump.
If you’re an employee who believes you could be happier in the freelancing world, then don’t be afraid to make the jump. Start small with a couple of side gigs next to your full-time job and see how it goes. If you enjoy it, you can always find more and keep offering more services to your existing clients. Of course, don’t quit your job until you are 100% certain about it and have something set up going forward.
And if/when you choose to make the jump into the be-your-own-boss space, have a look at Motil and our all-in-one freelancer management tool kit.
