The New World of Work Perspectives and the Future of Freelance Working

Marco Torregrossa Secretary General, European Forum of Independent Professionals

European Medical Writers Association Autumn Conference, 4 November 2016

The New York Cit ’s su a s ste has reported in April 2015 that,

for the first time in 30 years:

… this is because people are ditching the conventional commute

to a 9-to-5 job, so they can live and work differently.

The Rush Hour is Dying!

eekda gro th as strongest outside of the

traditional morning and

e e i g rush hours .

The Shortening of Work Relationship

Type

Contract

Length

Place

Protection

Employee

Open-ended

Decades

In-house

Linked to premises

Subcontractor

Temporary

Years

Out-house

Linked to status

Freelancer

Self-employed

Months/Days

Home/Cowor-king space

Linked to individual

On demand

Services

Hours/ Minutes

Platforms

To be invented

Adapted from Thomas Malone – The spectrum of jobs

Eurostat, 2015

1. A high degree of autonomy Freelancers exercise control over their workload and portfolio, giving them a greater degree of flexibility than employees.

2. Payment by task, assignment, or sales Freelancers are paid for their output – the completion of a project, rather than their input – number of hours worked.

3. Short-term relationship with clients Freelancers perform short-term assignments. They can begin to work immediately without infrastructures, funding, a business plan and often learn business skills as they go.

4. Measuring growth in unconventional ways Freelancers want to keep their business at a manageable size, balancing income generation with creativity, freedom, self-reliance and well-being.

How to Spot a Freelancer

Full-Time Freelancers [40% of all freelancers]

Traditional freelancers who derive their primary

income from independent work and do not have

an employer nor employees but instead do

freelance work on a project-to-project basis.

E.g. A self-employed chiropractor in private

practice.

Freelance Segmentation

Part-Time Freelancers (Moonlighters) [45% of all freelancers]

Individuals with multiple sources of income from a

mix of traditional employer and freelance work.

E.g. A self-employed professor who also gives paid

speeches and writes/sells an e-book.

Temporary Workers [10% of all freelancers]

Individuals with a single employer, client, job, or

contract project where their employment status is

temporary.

E.g. A self-employed business consultant working

for one client on a contract basis for a month-long

project.

Freelance Business Owners [5% of all freelancers]

Freelancers who provide their services through a

limited company rather than as a solo trader.

E.g. A self-employed social marketing guru with her

own one-person company.

Consultants PR/Marketing prof. IT prof. Journalists

Real estate prof. Painters Translators/Interpreters Magicians

Football players Top models HR/Headhunters Writers/Editors

Interior designers Meteorologists Virtual assistants Therapists

Social workers Private investigators Fitness trainers Photographers

Social media prof. Exotic dancers Actors/Film Makers Game developers

Bloggers Musicians/Singers Tour guides Medium/Fortune Tellers

Buskers Yoga instructors Gardeners Personal coaches

Senior carers/Nannies Chiropractors Web developers/Coders Bitcoin miners

Some Examples of Freelancers

Structural shifts shaping a new world of work

Combined forces

• Globalisation

• Faster lifestyles

• Technological revolution

• Demographic changes

• Increased mobility

• Development of the service sector

• New production patterns

• Online platforms

• Eroding brand and employer loyalties

• Need for specialised ad hoc skills

• Cost effective online advertising

• Access to better business infrastructure

Work is nowadays …

1. Much more accessible

2. In much smaller pieces

3. From a greater number

of providers

Hollywood and Pharma Industry

• Healthcare sector is an area where the Hollywood model (highly flexible project-based approach) has developed.

• Research is often ceded to startups or research labs.

• External scientists, executives and staff with complementary skills work on a single project with venture funding and strict deadlines.

• If successful, the team might sell the medication or its marketing rights to a pharma company.

• The team later disbands, and moves on to another project.

• Define freelancers as a unique subset of micro-

enterprises for the purpose of the SMEs

definition.

• Obtain better data on the freelance workforce

through new and more regular government

surveys, with up-to-date categories and criteria.

• Modernize the safety net with a portable system

of benefits tied to workers, not to a single

employer.

• Produce simplified policy that considers

freelancers, with impact assessments adapted to

self-employment.

• Create the right incentives and ensure freelancers

can access work, public procurement, credit,

social security, training, infrastructures and tax

benefits at the same conditions of employees.

Recommendations: Policy Makers

• Develop flexible pension products which

freelancers can access, without penalty, when

faced with income volatility.

• Develop affordable income protection

insurance options for freelancers.

• Create a saving scheme for freelances where

they can channel a percentage of every

invoice.

• Build more shared offices that can be booked

in increments and coworking spaces.

• Develop flexible training programs to enable

freelancers to advance their careers.

Recommendations: Intermediaries

• Understand lifetime employment is largely

a relic of the past.

• Operate like a self-contained small

business.

• Map out your own career trajectories,

looking for your own advancement.

• Develop differentiated skills to avoid

becoming part of a low-wage generalist

pool.

• Learn self-management skills and

foresight to prepare for highs and lows in

earnings.

Recommendations: Workers

• Do ’t thi k i ter s of e plo ees but in terms

of specialisms.

• Create an external talent pool and appoint an

officer of extended workforce management.

• Device analytics to measure performance and

integrate freelancers into the company culture.

• People specializing in doing what they do best

raises their engagement and makes companies

more productive.

• Consider the trade-offs, it can be unwise to

a age so eo e’s ork e ter all a d riskier to entrust someone with confidential projects.

• Ensure that independent workers are treated

fairly and ethically.

Recommendations: Companies

Adapted from Peck, The Flexible Firm (1996)

There are la s for people a d laws for businesses, but we are a

e ategor , a third ategor … people as usi esses.

- Brian Chesky, CEO Airbnb

M father had one job in his life, I've had six in mine, my kids will have six at the same ti e.

- Robin Chase, CEO Zipcar

Marco Torregrossa about.me/marcotorregrossa

Secretary General

European Forum of Independent Professionals

@EFIPUpdate | #iPros | #ThinkSmallestFirst

Understanding Independent Professionals in the EU, Lorence Nye and Kayte Jenkins, June 2016.

Freelancing in America, Freelancers Union and Upwork report, 2015.

How do the staffing needs of companies evolve?, Denis Pennel Ciett Managing Director presentation at ILO ITC, 2nd November 2015.

The Future of Work: Skills and Resilience for a World of Change, European Political Strategy Centre, 10 June 2016.

Future of Work White Paper, World Employment Confederation, September 2016.

Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy, McKinsey Global Report, October 2016.

Sources