Today many people choose to work for themselves rather than for others. I believe this is because the traditional corporate world offers little work-life balance. Nevertheless, self-employment may do the opposite that results in more workloads and stress.
Firstly, people in traditional workplaces often find it hard to have personal time even after working hours. In the current corporate trend where efficiency and value for money are essential, manpower shortage is hardly uncommon and employees face higher workload than before. To complete tasks and maintain good relationships with bosses and customers, they often work extra time and are required to join after-work drinking sessions. Despite some partygoers may love post-work socials, many rather allocate their precious post-work time to friends and families rather than their bosses. Hence, working for a company can stress employees in many ways that reduce their time.
Some may say being self-employed gives more freedom to oneself as he would have full control of his job, yet this is not true since owning a business can be even more bothersome than working for others. All corporate functions, be they marketing, finance, or customer support, are now done by yourself. Worse still, one may have their time fully occupied by ways to improve their business. Take YouTubers for example, many of them are constantly checking the feedback on their video, and are looking for new topics or filming methods to better their videos. Hence, the boundary between work and rest would be quietly blurred, and they get even less freedom than having a job that requires reporting to seniors.
In conclusion, many people become self-employed to keep their work-life balance. However, due to the nature of self-employing jobs, it can mean greater workloads and stress.