Freelancing: The Stats & Facts

Signature Works provides flexible office space for freelancers and startups in Liverpool. We have a growing community of members with a shared motivation to succeed and grow as independent workers in the UK.

Here we take a look at some of the facts and stats you may want to know if you’re working for yourself in the UK today:

Quick Facts About People Who Want Flexible Jobs

There is an increasing shift from the traditional workplace to a more flexible experience and research into the rapidly changing demographics within this universe, shows that the kind of people seeking flexible working environments shares the following characteristics:

• They are likely to have telecommuted in their careers before, either full time or part-time.
• Almost 80% of freelancers have A Levels and around 30% a university degree.
• Almost all freelancers (81%) are management level professionals, with 10% holding executive positions.
• A significant proportion of today’s freelancers are likely to have a childcare commitment, with many turning to self-employment during maternity or paternity leave.
• A surprising number of freelancers are over the age of 40, although the sector is increasingly dominated by millennials as they enter the workforce.

Why do People choose to be Freelance?

Of course everyone has their own personal reasons for choosing to go it alone in the workplace but by and large, the following reasons are cited, with the most popular being at the top of the list:

• Work-life balance
• To improve family life
• Health reasons
• Time savings and reduced commuter stress
• Cost-savings
• Fuel costs
• Travel expenses
• Having responsibility for the care of a family member

Many freelancers choose to work for themselves after spending years of their lives stuck on trains or in cars on their daily commute to work. In the digital age, it seems almost archaic that we have to be on-site in an employer’s location to be of value to the workforce and more people are now bucking that trend. We are largely being led by millennials in the freelance movement as they are a generation born in the digital era and their expectations of working life have changed significantly!

Why People Want to Work from Home: Productivity, Stress, Health

Although it seems like the ideal to be able to mooch about your house in your dressing gown, occasionally tapping away at your computer in a totally stress-free environment, but the reality is very different.

Nevertheless, when you compare the experience of working from home with working from an employer’s office, there’s no comparison and the vast majority of people find they get much more done when they haven’t got the boss lurking on their shoulder!

Here are some reasons people give for preferring to work from home:

• They feel more able to concentrate on important projects when in the more relaxed environment of their own homes.
• They feel the time they spend getting to and from the office each day is a wasted opportunity to get more work done.
• Office politics and annoying colleagues are inevitable in the traditional workplace whereas you don’t have those kinds of unpleasant distractions at home.
• The majority of people find it less stressful working from home with more flexible hours than having to work on an enforced schedule.

If you’re a freelancer in Liverpool, you may want to ditch the confines of your lounge to join us at Signature Works. We’re located in the stunning Bling Bling Building in the city centre and we have a wide range of fantastic opportunities for you to take advantage of that will boost your freelance career! Why don’t you choose to work from offices where the coffee flows freely, the environment is chilled and the WiFi superfast! Contact our Community Manager at Signature Works on 0151 558 1566 or book your tour today!