Freelancing has become very popular nowadays and many people find it appealing for a variety reasons. Many young people in underdeveloped countries are unable to find full-time, traditional jobs and instead turn to freelancing as their safe haven. Those in more developed countries sometimes leave their job for freelancing or add it to their daily routine as an extra income. The concept of working from the comfort of your home sounds amazing and has many benefits, but there are some drawbacks to it, too.

Freedom and flexibility

One of the perks of freelancing is that most of the time, you get to organize your time and schedule.

If you’re not a morning person, you can sleep in and work when you feel productive. If you function best in the morning, you may get up early, finish your tasks and have the rest of the day for your social life. When it comes to salary jobs, employers have a fixed commitment to particular working hours, often work overtime and need to check e-mails and be alert even when their job has finished. This brings a lot of stress and it’s hard to achieve a work-life balance. With freelancing, you often get to negotiate your own terms and manage your time as it suits you.

Taking your job with you

This sounds bad for salary-based employees because it implies dealing with your job even in your free time.

For freelancers, on the other hand, this basically means you can work from anywhere, provided you have the necessary conditions. This usually includes a laptop, good internet connection, and a quiet environment. So, basically, freelancers can go on a trip, enjoy their time and still be somewhat productive during that time and finish a few projects.

Another benefit of freelancing is that you can take time and days off whenever you need or want it. One’s social life doesn’t need to be threatened by this way of working if one knows how to organize their time.

No benefits

One of the drawbacks to freelancing is the fact that there are no benefits such as pensions, health care, or insurance.

The companies or clients that hire freelancers usually don’t offer those, but many freelancers opt for saving money or simply buying private insurance.

For some companies, freelancers struggle with cash flow as payments sometimes come late or don’t come at all. Freelancers need to be extra careful when accepting a freelance job or gig. Take your time to inquire about payment methods and, if possible, talk to someone who dealt with that company before to hear their impressions. If you play your cards right, you can have multiple income streams and always have a backup in case one client stops hiring you.

Isolation

One of the things freelancers complain about is a type of alienation. When you work from home every day, you get used to spending time inside and not seeing people.

This might not feel like a problem in the beginning when you’re cash-driven and talk to people using social media, but with time you notice some counter-effects. Some freelancers complain of getting lazy and losing interest in going out and spending time with people-- this, however, is a matter of choice. As mentioned before, freelancing gives you the freedom to organize your time better so you can manage to keep the work-life balance.
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