The Route to Happiness is Self Employment Says Report

Leaving your job to go freelance is proving to be a smart career choice for thousands of self-employed consultants who claim to be working less and earning more.

A survey released today by on-demand labour specialist MBA & Co, paints a picture of a highly motivated and happy group of independent workers with 91% claiming they are satisfied with their new lifestyle.

Two thirds (67%) of the consultants questioned said they were earning as much if not more money than they did in conventional employment with a similar number (68%) claiming to work fewer hours.

“It is clear that self-employment has become a very attractive alternative to a traditional career in management,” said MBA & Co’s CEO Daniel Callaghan.

“There is a huge migration towards self-employment amongst higher management in business, and this survey helps understand the reasons why so many people are jumping ship.”

The research goes on to show that pursuing a different lifestyle is the main driver: whether it’s to pursue other business interests (62%) or achieve a better work/life balance (57%).

Whilst the motivations for going solo are broadly the same for men and women, women seem keener to find a better work/life balance than men ( 62% compared to 57%) but are more likely to miss the buzz of a conventional office ( 49% compared to 37%).

According to MBA & Co, the number of top level freelance consultants will grow dramatically over the next five years to over a 1m with an estimated 650,000 more joining the mass exodus away from traditional employment.

“This is a brain-drain of epic proportions and a huge warning sign to business that the traditional 9-5 employment has passed its sell-by date,” said Callaghan.

“The migration of workers at all levels had been accelerated by the growth of cloud-based marketplaces which make it easier for freelancers to find project-based assignments,” he added.

Working alone does have its drawbacks, though, with 84 % admitting that they worried where the next assignment would come from. However, less than half (40%) said they missed having other people around them at work.