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Workers aren't done with full-time work. Workers answered a survey saying that they are disillusioned with the idea of full-time work. In their idea of a perfec

Workers aren't done with full-time work. Workers answered a survey saying that they are disillusioned with the idea of full-time work. In their idea of a perfect world, they would do freelance and not tie themselves to one employer. What would be really interesting is to follow up with those 109 that were actually laid off and see where they land. I'd wager 95% of them continue with full-time work, despite their answers on this survey.

_fat_santa 4y ago
The other side of the field looks much greener when you just got laid off. FTE is a very stable type of employment compared to freelance. And considering that most got laid off from high profile tech companies they should have no issue finding work. Kind of an interesting phenomena lately with all the press around the layoffs, I guess because they are happening in household name companies. It seems wired from my perspective to run to the media about this. If anything, complaining to the media will make you even less hirable because now the company is thinking in the back of it's head if you will badmouth them to the press if they have to lay you off.
mc32 4y ago
This is people idealizing things. In best of world, yeah, who wouldn't want to take units[1] of work at will. Have some available time? Put in a bid, do the task and be done. On the other hand, as one can see with Uber on the one hand and 1099s on the other, it's a mixed bag with lots of pros and cons. You manage your own time, but you take on more responsibility. I think, given the realities of life, people will, on balance, choose the stability an FTE position. [1]this isn't always practical as many things are not inherently divisible into units of labor [pregnancy being the iconic example where you can't put 9 women to deliver in one month]
- Buttons840 4y ago
  Software security and quality is already in a pretty sad state. If the software industry changes to resemble the gig economy we're going to be in trouble.
  - njbooher 4y ago
    Software security has already been turned into gig work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_bounty_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_bounty_program Some people make a living off it. Most don't.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
arcturus17 4y ago
I freelance and hire other freelancers. There is a meta-job in managing business, and more importantly, selling, which I think that many people with an average intelligence and EQ would be able to do and eventually make the same or more than their jobs. But most people won't have the appetite for risk, or the will to spend about ~20% of their time selling (constantly) to make sure that the pipeline grows in volume and margin.
- boringg 4y ago
  Add to that many people really don't like selling themselves.
  - arcturus17 4y ago
    I don’t think that’s a massive problem - you can get away without ultra-personalistic selling and focus the sales attention on your product/service and USPs. In my experience, what most people (myself included when I started) are horrified of is selling, period. Particularly cold outreach which you might not need in very specific contexts, but of which there will be a sizeable need in many others.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
faet 4y ago
As someone whose hired people/done PT work/contract work and FT work these are things people want: Health Care and Money. I know many smart people who'd do non-full time work if they had healthcare provided. But, unless you're a FTE you're not getting that. Also, the pay differences is pretty low. Why would I work as a Dev at "Random Contract Company" that is offering $65-75/hr when I could just get a FT job that pays $140-150k/yr and includes PTO and other perks? If part time/contract paid as much of a difference as travel nurses for instance, you'd see a lot more contractors.
- TuringNYC 4y ago
  My biggest issue with freelance/contract was the internal pressure to take on jobs for pay that didn't fully match my technical or organizational interests. It wasnt always clear when the next catch would come if i turned away paid work. There was always a pipeline, but it was lumpy and often at the mercy of budgets, finance, vendor management, etc. As an Employee, i put all my effort into finding an organization i love, and the work is a pleasure each day.
- SkyPuncher 4y ago
  > But, unless you're a FTE you're not getting that. I don't understand this prevailing notion that Health Care is some mythical thing that only employers can provide. I contracted for a few years. I simply bought health insurance. It was "more expensive" because I didn't have an employer contributing to part of the costs, but it wasn't any more "expensive" than what I and my employer were paying for anyways.
  - Karunamon 4y ago
    >It was "more expensive" because I didn't have an employer contributing to part of the costs So it was more expensive, full stop, no scare quotes. Anyone who has ever shopped for insurance on the open marketplace or saw how much they would have to pay for COBRA can tell you that it is extremely expensive to pay for it yourself. If someone else is covering your costs, then it costs less.
    - 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
neovive 4y ago
I agree. The allure of working from anywhere at any time is enticing, but not the reality for most. Everyone ultimately has a boss — whether an employer, manager, shareholder, client — and shifting to freelance doesn't change that. What does change is the responsibility for bringing in consistent work and the accountability for project deadlines, which can be a job on its own.

_fat_santa 4y ago

The other side of the field looks much greener when you just got laid off. FTE is a very stable type of employment compared to freelance. And considering that most got laid off from high profile tech companies they should have no issue finding work. Kind of an interesting phenomena lately with all the press around the layoffs, I guess because they are happening in household name companies. It seems wired from my perspective to run to the media about this. If anything, complaining to the media will make you even less hirable because now the company is thinking in the back of it's head if you will badmouth them to the press if they have to lay you off.

mc32 4y ago

This is people idealizing things. In best of world, yeah, who wouldn't want to take units[1] of work at will. Have some available time? Put in a bid, do the task and be done. On the other hand, as one can see with Uber on the one hand and 1099s on the other, it's a mixed bag with lots of pros and cons. You manage your own time, but you take on more responsibility. I think, given the realities of life, people will, on balance, choose the stability an FTE position. [1]this isn't always practical as many things are not inherently divisible into units of labor [pregnancy being the iconic example where you can't put 9 women to deliver in one month]

Buttons840 4y ago
Software security and quality is already in a pretty sad state. If the software industry changes to resemble the gig economy we're going to be in trouble.
- njbooher 4y ago
  Software security has already been turned into gig work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_bounty_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_bounty_program Some people make a living off it. Most don't.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

arcturus17 4y ago

I freelance and hire other freelancers. There is a meta-job in managing business, and more importantly, selling, which I think that many people with an average intelligence and EQ would be able to do and eventually make the same or more than their jobs. But most people won't have the appetite for risk, or the will to spend about ~20% of their time selling (constantly) to make sure that the pipeline grows in volume and margin.

boringg 4y ago
Add to that many people really don't like selling themselves.
- arcturus17 4y ago
  I don’t think that’s a massive problem - you can get away without ultra-personalistic selling and focus the sales attention on your product/service and USPs. In my experience, what most people (myself included when I started) are horrified of is selling, period. Particularly cold outreach which you might not need in very specific contexts, but of which there will be a sizeable need in many others.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

faet 4y ago

As someone whose hired people/done PT work/contract work and FT work these are things people want: Health Care and Money. I know many smart people who'd do non-full time work if they had healthcare provided. But, unless you're a FTE you're not getting that. Also, the pay differences is pretty low. Why would I work as a Dev at "Random Contract Company" that is offering $65-75/hr when I could just get a FT job that pays $140-150k/yr and includes PTO and other perks? If part time/contract paid as much of a difference as travel nurses for instance, you'd see a lot more contractors.

TuringNYC 4y ago
My biggest issue with freelance/contract was the internal pressure to take on jobs for pay that didn't fully match my technical or organizational interests. It wasnt always clear when the next catch would come if i turned away paid work. There was always a pipeline, but it was lumpy and often at the mercy of budgets, finance, vendor management, etc. As an Employee, i put all my effort into finding an organization i love, and the work is a pleasure each day.
SkyPuncher 4y ago
> But, unless you're a FTE you're not getting that. I don't understand this prevailing notion that Health Care is some mythical thing that only employers can provide. I contracted for a few years. I simply bought health insurance. It was "more expensive" because I didn't have an employer contributing to part of the costs, but it wasn't any more "expensive" than what I and my employer were paying for anyways.
- Karunamon 4y ago
  >It was "more expensive" because I didn't have an employer contributing to part of the costs So it was more expensive, full stop, no scare quotes. Anyone who has ever shopped for insurance on the open marketplace or saw how much they would have to pay for COBRA can tell you that it is extremely expensive to pay for it yourself. If someone else is covering your costs, then it costs less.
  - 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

neovive 4y ago

I agree. The allure of working from anywhere at any time is enticing, but not the reality for most. Everyone ultimately has a boss — whether an employer, manager, shareholder, client — and shifting to freelance doesn't change that. What does change is the responsibility for bringing in consistent work and the accountability for project deadlines, which can be a job on its own.