Will COVID-19 Impact Freelancers?

Covid-19 has affected thousands of businesses and turned our world upside down. Businesses have had to let go of employees, some even going out of business in the wake of the virus. Others have had to temporarily close if non-essential and thousands of employees around the world are unsure as to whether or not they’ll still have a job once the pandemic ends.

However, one form of employment that few are talking about is freelancing. Freelancing is independent contractors that usually are self-employed, so their work depends on the need for their services.

Let’s take a look at how freelancers have been affected by the pandemic, what impact COVID -19 will have on them, and how the virus has changed their workload.

How has COVID-19 affected freelancers so far?

Although many states are already re-opening and businesses have begun to slowly (and with stipulations) open up, freelancers may take a little longer to bounce back to normal. COVID – 19 has affected how freelancers work, their hourly rate and the virus could ultimately have changed the way that they are seen in the future.

However, although there have been changes, this doesn’t mean that they have all been bad. Quite the contrary; some freelancers have thrived, to an extent, during the pandemic. In these unsure and troubling times, what may once have been viewed as a steady, ensured job now seems unstable and vice versa.

Many employees with committed jobs have envied the self-employment that freelancers have; although their number of jobs may have decreased during the crisis, their employment is still in their own hands and they control it. For many freelancers, work has even picked up depending on what their job is and the need for it during the virus.

There’s no definite answer to how COVID – 19 has affected freelancers. Some say that they’ve seen a decline in work over the length of the pandemic while others say that the demands for their job have been much greater over time.

The future

Although the future for freelancers may seem a bit murky at the moment, there have been many guesses at what the future may hold for them.

Many think that we’ll see more people find employment through freelancing after the pandemic ends, merely for the fact that people will feel more secure with a part-time job that is in their control than a steady, committed job. The pandemic has caused many to view employment differently and it’s no surprise that many may think that freelancing will be more secure in case of another crisis.

On the other hand, we have others, those who have either done freelancing in the past or who currently choose it as employment, that think similarly and are grateful for their form of employment.

Many freelancers have said they feel grateful that they were employed through freelancing, versus another form of employment throughout the pandemic. It has forced them to think outside of the box and focus, instead of on the negatives happening in the world, on the opportunities presenting themselves through the crisis.

The pandemic has forced all employees, regardless of what they do for employment, to re-evaluate their job and have a new look at not only their job but the world around them. Currently, we can do nothing but wait and see what results will come for freelancers in the future.