What is the future of freelancers in Nigeria? As the world moves towards innovation, Nigeria always seems to play catch up.
Change is constant and it isn’t restricted to humans alone. The work landscape is always changing, sometimes for good and sometimes for worse. While the change in the workplace is scary it makes freelancing fun. Initially, the traditional job offers some sort of job security, retirement with a pension. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case due to unexpected changes like a layoff, and wage slash, etc.
The pandemic gave freelancers the center stage- everyone had to work from home and 3 months down the line everyone realized they could work remotely. It was the moment of truth for most people and a career change.
The Internet has opened up many independent opportunities, helped small businesses, and has expanded other businesses. Freelance marketplaces have also globalized competition for some jobs, and yes it has made many go the extra mile to hone their skill.
If your company is considering hiring a freelancer rather than a full-time employee, you might be interested to find that freelancers can provide several advantages. And if you want to be a freelancer but you're uncertain about the future of remote workers in Nigeria this article uncovers 8 reasons why EMPLOYEES WILL ALWAYS hire freelancers. Hence, freelancers will never get out of a job.
Reasons why you think freelancing will be history in Nigeria
Getting the right hard and soft skills don’t guarantee success as a freelancer, because Nigeria as a country tends to make one’s skills inadequate.
Aside from internet connection, which is one important thing in the life of a freelancer, basic resources which should be adequately provided by the government are not found such as human security, good roads, and transportation, and all of these negatively affect performance. Others are:
1. Inconsistent Power Supply
You as a freelancer know you can deliver the job promptly but there is a voice in your head saying hey!! Can we do this? Power isn’t stable, how do we do it?
I know as a freelancer, especially if you’re not a newbie, this shouldn’t be something new, you know this already and you have a generator or an inverter or a friend whose house has a constant power supply.
For newbies, it’s hard to generate external power and this causes freelancers to be kept back from opportunities that could be theirs. Freelancers in other parts of the world, where 24/7 electricity and unlimited WiFi are provided will always top Nigeria and get more jobs.
2. Wrong Perception of Nigerians
Have you ever felt like hiding your identity from foreigners? You just want to hide the truth about you – that you’re a Nigerian.
Nigeria has a damaged reputation especially when it has to be online. Nigerians are scammers, we won’t work with them and you’re wondering with such perception will I ever get a global job? This is a major issue for the majority of freelancers. Imagine having all the skills and being turned down from jobs because clients have worked with other Nigerians who scammed them either as a freelancer or via other means.
Now that we have talked about your fears, we have 8 reasons why you shouldn’t be worried because you as a freelancer will always get gigs. Freelancers don’t employ themselves, however, if the benefit of hiring freelancers exceeds the pain of hiring freelancers then freelancers like you will always be in business.
So we have listed 8 benefits of freelancers to an organization to remind you that you matter in every organization.
BENEFIT OF FREELANCERS TO AN ORGANIZATION
1. You Pay Only for the Project You Need
Why employ a full-time employee for a project that can be achievable in 3 weeks? Not every job or task necessitates the hiring of a full-time employee. You’ll only pay freelancers for projects executed. Once the project is completed, the contract is terminated (one-off payment). When you’re ready to begin a new project you contact the freelancer or try out another. Some days or weeks there are no projects for full-time employees to work on, but they are always available at the office and at the end of the month they need to be paid, burning the company. Many projects are one-time off jobs.
2. There’s Minimal Commitment Involved
One of the risks involved with hiring full-time professionals is: If income isn’t readily available or stops coming in for a short period, as long as employees come to work you still have to pay them at the end of the month.
Hence, employers are looking for easy landing, with freelancers, once a project is completed you don’t have any obligation to them.
3. It’ll save you some space
Office space is EXPENSIVE, yes it is. And employees tend to take up a lot of space – and more employees mean bigger space. However, this will be different if they work from their abode.
4. You can work with multiple freelancers
Employers won’t have to commit to working with certain team members till someone leaves or is fired. It also gives you the chance to try out several people (freelancers) who will bring different ideas and approaches to your project.
5. Vast Network
Never underestimate the network of a freelancer. A freelancer can refer you to another freelancer with a different specialty or a possible investor. Hence, saving you from the stress of looking for help longer than you should. After all, freelancers' lives are built on connections.
6. Diversity
From their skills, the different projects worked on, working styles, to their ethnicities, etc. As a result, freelancers might provide your job with a fresh viewpoint. Whatever the project is or the technology used there’s a freelancer out there who has the ideal skill for the project. Moreover, if you can't find them locally, you can search the global space.
7. Company risk reduction
When you recruit a full-time employee, you're making an investment in that person's future for the company. It costs money and time to train and onboard them, and there is always some risk involved. Working with freelancers allows you to construct a contract with precise deliverables before payment, rather than risk losing that investment if the employee decides to leave the company. Working with freelancers cuts down on cost.
8. No long-term commitment
When a full-time employee is hired, the employer is responsible for a lot of things, like their wellbeing, health, security, etc. Unlike hiring freelancers that are for a short-term project, there wouldn't be a need for long-term commitment plans.
Conclusion
In the future, freelancers may find jobs easier to obtain due to the shift in mindset toward hiring freelancers. While there are disadvantages of hiring freelancers, many organizations are beginning to realize the benefits of working with freelancers instead of hiring full-time employees, especially for short contracts thereby saving the company some money and less burden.
However, recently, organizations are more frequently outsourcing project-based jobs to freelancers, rather than hiring full-time staff.
To every Nigerian freelancer, I just want to say you’re doing great. You didn’t stop despite all of the challenges you’re facing being your boss. If you’re looking for a sign to continue then let the freelancer in the mirror be your sign.
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