A common misconception about being freelance, is that we have a chilled approach to work, waking when we fancy, working in front of This Morning, potter off somewhere for work and never work weekends. Right?
Nah. NAH. If you’re freelance, you know this isn’t the case. In fact, I’ve always suspected most freelancers work far more now they’re their own boss, than they ever did in their traditional job. New research from Crunch has back this up, showing that the self-employed work an extra 14 hours per week compared to employed workers. That’s an extra month a year!
There were a few other interesting stats that came out of the research, commissioned by online accounting firm Crunch as part of its Safety in Numbers Report:
- January is the most stressful month of the year, for a third of respondents. Well, it is self-assessment deadling month!
- We suck at taking time off. Independent workers take half the average holiday allowance of employees.
- We don’t work 9-5. Over a third (39%) start the working day before 8am and six per cent even clock in between 4am – 5am. A further 43% are still working after 10pm, with women more likely to work later into the night than men.
It’s not all bad news. Part of the reason we work harder is because we simply have more to do – marketing, finance, admin, sales etc. But it’s also because we actually like what we do.
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius
If you are struggling this January, Crunch are trialling a helpline between 4:00am-8:30pm between Monday 29th and Wednesday 31st January on 03332226070, with loads of professional support for freelancers facing tax return wobbles.
I’d love to know how you get on with work hours and taking holidays. Is balance something you struggle with?
(Note: Not a sponsored post, I just found these stats really interesting)