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Want Happy Freelancers? Ditch These Bad Habits
They’re common, but also disrespectful and a source of potential hardship
Freelancing is on the rise, not just because people are trying to make financial ends meet, but because they’re on the hunt for greater personal autonomy and fulfillment. And business leaders also now assert that the rise of the gig economy is having a positive influence on the social status of non-payrolled workers. While that’s terrific news, many freelancers such as myself are still in the position of having to teach others how to treat us. Employers routinely make us cringe with the following professional offenses:
1. Assuming availability
Good freelancers understand that business moves fast and that quick, quality turnaround matters. And there are cases where payrolled employees have multiple supervisors within one company. But employers tend to be unprepared for workers who might have many bosses from unrelated businesses. They routinely expect that the only directions a freelancer is waiting to follow is theirs, and that the freelancer will be able to immediately offer service. Subsequently, they drop work on the freelancer’s lap. They tell the freelancer what their companies need and communicate from the start as if due dates already are non-negotiable or fixed.
