FREELANCE is one of those things that tend to polarize people. Some consider it their dream career while Others find it too stressful and demanding. The truth lies, as it often happens, somewhere in between. Sure, freelancing can be stressful and demanding, but it can be equally liberating and rewarding.
Be your own Boss at your own risk
You are free to work (or not) as you please. There’s nobody to call you on anything anymore since you’re your own boss. Being a freelancer also means that you get to decide which projects you’ll take in. You can also show any rude customer the door. Of course, you can design projects and implement changes the way you want, not how some upper management dimwit decides. Being your own boss can be tough. Whereas your old boss was responsible for putting money on your bank account at the end of each month, now this responsibility lies solely on you. Now instead of dealing with your boss you will have to deal with your clients.
Keep all the profits you earn but it won’t be easy
One of the saddest feelings when working as an employee is doing all the hard work for some project, and then getting paid your usual meager salary. As a freelancer, you get to keep any profits stemming from your labor directly to your bank account but doing the work is only half of the freelancing job ,the other half is actually getting paid for it as some will have the honest intention to pay you but the others still won’t stop short of saying that you should be paying them for the privilege of working for them.
Finding work for yourself
You are responsible for finding your own work. When you’re employed, you come into work, and someone will give you work to do. As a freelancer, you won’t have this luxury. Occasionally, especially once you’re established as a freelancer, you’ll receive an email or a call from a prospective client who has heard of you through word of mouth, but for the most part, you’re the one who has to do the legwork to get those jobs. Whether it’s through frequenting freelance job boards—there are several online, particularly for the creative fields, such as freelance web developer jobs, freelance web design work and online writing jobs—or through good old fashioned networking, it’s up to you to land the work that will pay the bills.
More the benefits, More the responsibilities
You have to wear a lot more hats. While you’re offering a specific service to your clients, as a freelancer you’ll find yourself devoting a certain amount of time each week to business activities you never had to do before as an employee. Not only will you be responsible for the work your client has hired you to do, you will also need to do all the administrative work that’s required, such as billing, paying invoices and dealing with other accounting matters. You’ll also have to do your own sales, marketing and advertising. Overall, it’s likely you’ll find yourself spending at least seven to ten hours per week on these additional—and unfortunately, non-billable—activities.
The Takeaway
Freelancing is equal parts positive and negative. You just have to decide if you’re willing to take the risk that almost always accompanies it. Freelancing means professional freedom, but it also means instability and the risk of failure. And that may not be what you need in your professional life. But if you risk your stability for something more in tune with your professional goals than a traditional job, you have the opportunity to build your name and reputation and reach your professional goals.
TEAMWORK is defined as being the “combined action of a group of people to become efficient and effective.”
Better Division of Labor but too many Faux Leaders
One of the advantages of collaborative efforts in the workplace is the way that the work is divided. When more than one person is involved in accomplishing a certain task, particularly when it is a large project, it helps for everyone to have a small portion of the responsibility to ensure things get done versus loading one or two people with too much work to accomplish the task.
When you have a collaborative group, you may sometimes end up with too many people trying to lead the group, and not enough members that are willing to take a backseat and just do what it takes to get the job done. This ill will can then bleed over into other areas of the work environment, causing more tension among the rest of the staff, including those that may not even be involved in the collaborative effort.
Greater Creative Input but Conflicts in Working Styles
When you have different people collaborating on a project, then you get a greater sense of creative input. You are able to tap into the creative combination of several employees in one group. The collection of different ideas, approaches to the project and brainstorms can spur innovative results that can in turn raise the visibility and quality of the products or services offered by your company.
When you group different people together to collaborate on one project or set of responsibilities, there may be a conflict in the working styles of the individuals within the group. This is one of the negative aspects of collaboration because it can hold up progress on accomplishing the job at hand, while team members instead muddle through conflicts caused by the different ways team members approach the work.
Increased Employee Morale but Lack of Trust Among Team Members
Having employees collaborate also has a positive effect on their morale. As employees work together to accomplish goals, they can celebrate their successes both individually and as a group, and this can cause them to have a more positive view of their jobs and team members. In turn, this can also build trust among co-workers as each member contributes to the team’s accomplishments.
To work effectively, employees in a team need to trust each other. Trust can quickly erode if a single team member doesn’t pull their weight. Because the work is collaborative, an employee who misses deadlines or doesn’t complete their assigned work can negatively impact the work of the entire team. This can lead to frustration and lack of trust within the other employees, reducing the effectiveness of their work and creating tension in the workplace.
While lack of trust is one of the disadvantages of collaboration, careful team management can help to prevent it. Team leaders can set clear expectations for the group as a whole, then outline specific expectations for each group member, including deadlines. Using milestones can help to keep each team member accountable and on task. With each team member accountable for their portion of the work, the team can work productively as a whole and team members can maintain a sense of trust in each other.
The Takeaway
These pros and cons of teamwork will help you take advantage of your individual strengths while promoting higher levels of productivity. There may be no “I” in team, as some people like to say, but there is a “me.” When you’re working with others, then you get to constantly focus on what you do best as you learn other skills. This structure can help take your career to the next level. Although some people excel more on their own, the social structures and benefits of being on a team usually make it the best possible option.
