3 in 10 Brits plan to be freelancers in the next 5 years, says Remote

The freelancer economy has generally grown exponentially in recent years, as more and more businesses look to cut costs and maximize efficiency by hiring international contractors and freelance workers. But what does the freelance landscape really look like going into 2023?

Remote has intensively surveyed 3,000 business owners, freelancers and employees all over the USA and UK to reveal benefits and challenges of freelance work (from both an employer and worker perspective), how freelancer work schedules differ from those of traditional employees, future prospects and what we can expect from freelancing in the coming years.

Why were Brits opting to switch to freelance?

What were the other key findings?

• Almost three in ten (28%) employees in the UK plan to do freelance work in the next five years

• Over two-thirds of employees say being in charge of their work schedule is the biggest motivation to go freelance while finding enough work is their biggest concern (66%)

• Freelancers work an average of 9.7 hours unpaid overtime, while employees work an average of 7.4

• Irregular work (60%) and unpaid invoices (59%) are among the key concerns holding workers back from going freelancer

How many plan to do freelance work in the next 5 years?

Remote’s survey revealed that almost three in 10 (28%) of current employees in the US and UK plan to do freelance work in the next five years, and another 21% of them want to do it in the next 11 months. Young people aged 25-34 are the most motivated of all, with 40% aiming to go freelance and over half of them (52%) saying they would consider it on a part-time basis.

What were the top five motivations for going freelance?

The top five biggest motivations driving current employees to consider going freelance are being in charge of when they choose to work (67%), their number of working hours (66%), and the type of work they do (64%); also location flexibility (63%); and work-life balance (62%).

What were the top five hindrances from going freelance?

According to the survey, although many people understand the appeal of freelance work, most of them also recognize that it’s not without its own challenges. The top five areas of concern for employees are finding enough work (66%), managing an irregular income (62%) irregular workflow (60%), managing clients’ expectations (60%), and clients not paying for work (59%).

Are freelancers likely to work more unpaid overtime?

Both employees and freelancers work five days a week on average with a similar number of contracted hours, however freelancers are more likely to work overtime than employees. Reportedly, freelancers work an average of 13.3 hours of paid overtime and 9.7 hours unpaid overtime per week, while employees work 8.8 paid and 7.4 unpaid overtime hours on average.

Freelancers also do however also benefit from more vacation days, reporting an average of 23.5 days of vacation per year compared to an average of 19.6 for employees. Over half (54%) of freelancers also said they take more vacation as a freelancer than they did as an employee.

What were the top five benefits of hiring freelancers?

28% of employers Remote surveyed and spoke with said they had a positive experience working with freelancers. The survey revealed the biggest benefits of hiring independent contractors are that it saves time (65%), is cost-effective (62%), offers a fresh perspective (61%), doesn’t need long-term commitment (60%), offers a larger pool of talent to choose from (60%).

What were the challenges faced when hiring freelancers?

Working with freelancers isn’t always easy; it comes with its challenges for business owners. According to Remote’s survey, the top 5 challenges are freelancer knowledge of the company (53%), communication (52%), inconsistent availability (52%) pricing (50%), and high costs (50%).