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Back68% of Remote Workers are Interested in Taking on Freelance Work Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
A new study from Fiverr shows that not only are people more satisfied working from home, but it is also opening up opportunities for them to add new revenue streams to their income
New York, NY - December 16, 2020 - Fiverr, the company that is changing how the world works together, today announced the results of a survey, conducted in partnership with Censuswide, analyzing U.S. workers who are working remotely or who did so this year* and their current sentiment towards remote work and their jobs in 2021. The data set, which looks at 1,035 of these workers, revealed that the current work from home environment is leading to an increase in people's desire to freelance.
"We already know that the pandemic has increased the willingness of companies to work with freelancers, but on the flip side, we are seeing that working from home has also encouraged more full-time workers to give freelancing a shot," said Hila Klein, COO at Fiverr. "At Fiverr, we've seen new U.S. freelance registrations rise 48% year-over-year [Q3 of 2020], more than doubling the growth rate during the same time period last year. And not only are their numbers growing, but freelancers on Fiverr are also making more money in 2020, compared with previous years. The opportunities are endless and while COVID has definitely accelerated this shift towards freelancing, we expect it to keep trending upward post COVID."
Working from home has allowed freelancing and side hustles to take off.
With a lack of commuting and more time spent at home, people are taking the added time they now have and using it as an opportunity to add new revenue streams to their income. In fact, 68% of workers surveyed said that they are more open** to taking on freelance work and/or a side hustle since the outbreak of the pandemic and more than half (55%) of these respondents agreed*** that working from home has made them realize that freelancing could be a legitimate career option for them. Of those that are more open** to taking on freelance work or a side hustle, many are simply interested in trying something new (39%), while others reported that having more time on their hands (35%), and the flexibility of working from home (51%) has drawn them to consider freelancing.
That said, unfortunately many workers surveyed are also more open** to freelancing because their work has been affected by the pandemic - over a quarter reported being more open because they are currently concerned for their job security (26%) or because they had their full time pay decreased, so want another revenue stream (23%).
People are more satisfied working from home now versus earlier this year.
The majority (97%) of workers surveyed in this study claim to have been working from home only for the last 8 months, with just 3% working home for more than 8 months. Studies have shown that it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and now that working from home is a habit for many, satisfaction has greatly increased. 41% of those surveyed claim to be very satisfied with their work-from-home arrangement now as compared to 29% when they first started working from home. And interestingly, while most seem to be quite happy with their work from home setup, a majority invested very little in it, with 30% of respondents claiming to have invested $0 in materials.
While working from home has proven to have its advantages, it also comes with its disadvantages. The top three biggest challenges faced working from home are too many distractions (31%), setting clear boundaries between work life and home life (27%) and feeling isolated (24%).
Working from home has also led to the deterioration of physical health -- respondents reported a reduction in their physical activity (38%), more screen time resulting in eye strains/headaches (40%) and working more overtime (64%).
2020 has forced people to reconsider their current careers.
Almost half (48%) of workers surveyed said*** that 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the likelihood of them looking for a new job. What they would most want to change about their jobs in 2021 includes getting experience in a new industry (21%), wanting to try something completely new (24%), and wanting to start their own business (20%). Furthermore, men seem to be more interested in looking for new jobs than women, with 52% of men saying they are likely to look for a new job as compared to 46% of women.
Interestingly, while many workers are looking for new jobs because of the pandemic, it might not be because they feel insecure about their current one. 42% of respondents reported that they feel just as secure in their jobs now as they did at the beginning of the year. However, there are still quite a few that are concerned, as almost one in five (18%) reported feeling more insecure about their jobs now****.
* Censuswide surveyed 1,035 workers that are working remotely or who did so this year, including 51 freelancers in the US between 16.11.20 - 27.11.20.
** combined much more open and somewhat more open
***combined somewhat agree and strongly agree
**** combined somewhat more insecure and much more insecure