Besides the change in the ecosystem in which the new generation has been brought up, there are certain technology advancements that have catalysed the adoption of freelancing.  These are very obvious and we see them all around us. I am discussing some of them here:

Enabling communication technologies – Communication technologies and internet protocol have enabled people to communicate across the globe. Audio and video technologies, data sharing and compressed data transfer technologies have evolved.  Better internet bandwidths enable use of such technologies. These technologies have been there for quite a while now. But advancement in these technologies and their combined effect has made distance communication easy.

First, businesses and corporates adopted these technologies for internal communication and to interact with their own clients. Gradually, the concept of occasional work from home started and the mindset towards remote working developed. Then, organisations started experimenting with remote teams to save on costs and improve efficiency. And gradually, the concept of remote working became a part of work culture.

Smartphones along with internet bandwidth combine all the above technologies in a small packet and provides unhindered connectivity to everyone. It is this cumulative effect of all these technologies that makes it possible for people to communicate with each other and share work across the globe. Freelancers working from remote locations can think of serving clients stationed in distant geographies. It has therefore, facilitated participation of global workforce in the economy. 

Cloud services – Many small businesses and individual freelancers are now able to thrive because of available digital infrastructure. There are platforms like wordpress, server hosts, shopify etc which help them going with their websites, blogs, etc in no time. There are cloud services like those provided by Amazon, Microsoft and Google that provides server space, data storage space and computing power on the go. Infact, the cloud storage services altogether eliminate the efforts required to mantain huge IT infrastructure which was otherwise a high barrier to entry for IT businesses. 

This help freelancers to start their business quickly without incurring any infrastructure costs. It reduces the initial investment required in a business and therefore, makes experimenting easy. As the cost of experimenting goes down, more people dare to give their own business a try for the benefits they see in it.

Right now such clouds help digital service businesses. Going forward, with the advent of 3D printers, physical storage clouds, human clouds, automation and more, we would see this benefit helping small businesses in non digital spaces like manufacturing, etc. These cloud technologies will give another push to freelancing across all sectors. Small businesses in manufacturing and non digital services would crop up to provide specialised services to people across the globe. 

Platforms for freelancers

A concern that deters people from freelancing is the difficulty in finding business. It is hard for individuals and small businesses to find buyers, negotiate prices and agreements, resolve any dispute that arises and collect dues for work done. Individuals and small businesses do not posses requisite skills to undertake above activities and hence, they are big deterrant to running business.

But platforms like Upwork, LinkedIn, Elance, Uber, Craiglist, Peopleperhour etc solve this problem for freelancers. By pairing freelancers talent with business requirements, they help both clients and freelancers discover each other. They eliminate the need for freelancers to approach businesses and pitch for work. They also provide standard service agreements that protect interests of businesses and freelancers both. They help in the process of price discovery, intervene to resolve any dispute that arises and protects the freelancers against any payment default risk. These platforms make it extremely efficient for individuals to run their own business through them.

Such paltforms have also helped in creation of new workforce. A lot of potential workforce across the globe couldn’t work because they weren’t able to afford full time employment, required flexible hours, couldn’t find buyer market near their homes or were not paid well. For instance, these platforms enable housewives to join the workforce because of flexi hours and possibility of remote working. Similarly, service providers in remote areas can now tap into buyers from other geographies. All such people and others have been able to join the workforce and freelance because of the ecosystem provided by platforms.

Development of Co-working spaces

Co working spaces have also been a modest facilitator of freelancing ecosystem. Freelancers often face problem of isolation, a work space away from home, small office space with facilities of conferencing etc when needed. Co-working spaces evolved to address these concerns. They help freelancers set up their offices quickly. One could start with just one seat at a co-working space. They also address the concern of isolation for individual freelancers which provides huge physcological boost to them. They have further evolved to cater to specific service providers to enable synergy among them.

Support from corporates

Freelancing ecosystem provides enough benefits to corporates for them to support it. They can enjoy leaner structure, reduced HR issues, save costs of establishment, save on cost of permanent workforce and ability to expand or reduce freelancers hired as per their requirements. For them the system works as a human cloud into which they could tap when required. Since, corporates also benefit from this system, they are also changing their work structure and are hiring freelancers which in turn supports the freelancing system.

A survey of the american workforce conducted by Freelancer Union reflects that 53 million americans are currently self employed. This represents approx. 34% of american workforce. This number is expected to grow to 63 million which is half of the american workforce by 2020. This means around half of the american workforce would not be in a full time position in a company. Similar statistics exist for european countries. A survey conducted by European Forum of Independent Professionals reflects that freelancing is rapidly increasing in all european union countries and show an average increase of 45% from year 2004 to 2013. Of these, Netherlands, Poland, France and UK have experienced highest growth rates ranging between 60% and 90%.

I believe this phenomenon is here to stay. It will change not only the work culture and corporate structures but also definition of work, lifestyles, incentives, social structure and social interaction. To really understand the scale of its impact, it is important to understand the reasons that influence a person to choose freelancing over a well paying job. One such important reason, I believe, is change of the environment / ecosystem in which the next generation has been brought up. 

The life experiences and the ecosystem in which a generation lives defines its values, perception of life and what it takes for granted and what not. Between the period 1800 to 1950s, world was experiencing a period of turmoil. More than half of the world was colonised by a few countries, there were world wars, epidemics, renaissance, revolutions, breakdown of kingdoms, holocaust etc. The period saw extreme uncertainty and political and economic instability. Life expectancies were short and generations were occupied in the struggle for daily survival and economic security. When businesses emerged and provided job opportunities, the generation welcomed it as it provided economic stability, retirement benefits, job security and opportunity to move up the corporate ladder promising more income. This cycle of routine life and climbing up the corporate ladder provided meaning to the generation at that time which was brought up in insecure environment lacking basic comforts.

However, the situation has changed now. Millennials have been brought up in a relatively much friendlier environment which is economically and politically more stable and socially secure. They presume the routineness of life, physical safety and job security. A routine 9-5 job feels rigid to them. A report published by Elance-oDesk says that 85% of Australians believe that the traditional 9-5 working model does not suit workers in 2015. They aspire for freedom from routine and structured life. They are less concerned with traditional metrics of success, like savings, owning big houses, expensive cars and are unimpressed by corporate defined designations. Flexibility of work hours, entertainment, leisure activities, spending time with family are whats more important to them. They demand more control over their lives. They have an apetite for higher risk and adventure.

Freelancing fits well in this role. Infact, this could be the reason that people higher up in the corporate ladder are the first ones to leave and opt for freelancing. They are the ones with more job and social security and can thus, afford to take higher risks.