Band 5+: Nowadays many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation. Why might this be the case? What could be the disadvantages of being self-employed? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

In today’s society, more and more people choose to be a freelancer rather than as a employee in a firm. The main reason of this phenomenon is people who self-employed can have more freedom than working in a company, while the drawbacks are they may lack social connections and their income may not maintain stable.

Having more disposable time is the determining factor that people choose to become a freelancer. That is because they can manage their affairs according to their own schedule, rather than being arranged by supervisors in company. Also, working from home saves people a lot of time in commute, in which case, they can spend more time and vigor on work and guarantee their working efficiency and productivity. For example, people who work as an online tutor do not need to go to school in person, which brings them much convenience and flexibility and they can spend more time on preparation for classes, thus enhancing their teaching outcomes.

However, there are some drawbacks of being self-employed. Firstly, people who work from home may lack social contact. Compare to those who work in a company or organization with many colleagues, freelancers usually just work with himself. In this case, they may sometimes feel lonely and demotivated. Secondly, the stability of their income is not guaranteed. Unlike working in the company, which employees can get paid on time, the salary of freelancers depends on the quantity and quality of their works and clients. If they cannot widen their social circle, they may not have enough clients to support their sustainable income. For instance, many designers chose to leave their company and became freelancers after the Covid pandemic in 2020, however, many of them cannot maintain their income because they do not have enough customers as before, and they finally went back to work in design companies.

In conclusion, enjoying more freedom is the contributing factor of people choosing to be self-employed. However, the disadvantages from less social connection and income insecurity cannot be neglected.