Self Employment

With a global recession firmly in place many people find themselves looking, or preparing to look, for new jobs or careers.

One change that is often contemplated is switching between employment and self-employment.

The attractions of working for oneself can seem overwhelming but self-employment is quite a culture shock for most of us.

What's it like?

People are generally gregarious, social beings and our work-place interactions make up a large part of our wellbeing/personalities. 

For all the perceived benefits of self employment, the need to constantly drive oneself and the lack of support can be tough.

Being motivated in a group context, with the help and contributions of others, is entirley different from the sort of self motivation required when working for yourself.

Here the need to deliver on time is matched by the need to wait for payment, while paying pay bills and running costs, finding more work and generally keeping your business afloat. 

How will it affect me?

We take for granted many of the things which get us through the working day and some may change dramatically. 

The offfice banter, knowing and sharing ideas with your colleagues and meeting them socially are accepted ingredients of work for permanent staff yet often rare ocurrances for the self employed. 

Perhaps this explains why many non permanent staff appear distant and cold in the work place. This can be heightened by an 'us and them' attitude all too prevelant in many work environments.

I have worked in an out of town industrial complex where buses were provided to get staff to work from the nearest train station (several miles away) but contractors were not allowed to use them and had to wait for the half hourly public service. 

This caused all manner of problems for contractors, which were compounded by not being allowed to park on-site if one chose to drive. 

The same company provided a large recreational facility for staff to use during their lunch hour and, you've guessed it, contractors weren't permitted to use this either.

This is the sort of situation that can really put a strain on your time at work and does little to enhance job satisfaction which most contractors would say is a notion that rarely applies in any case.

Before starting to work for yourself you would be wise to consider just what affect these sorts of things could have on you.

Conclusion

When work is scarce, it is neccessary to look for new and different opportunites but some changes may be more fundamental than we think .

How we interact with colleagues is an important and part of our working life.

The things which we take for granted are often those we miss most when they are not present.

Part of being self employed is also running a business which brings along a whole new set of issues and challenges.

Self employment can be a lonely, demanding option.