Are Gig and Freelance Work the Future of Careers for Fresh Graduates?

In the many, many, many workshops and webinars that my bosses with years of HR experience, have signed me up for, one recurring element stood out to me: the fact that so many HR higher-ups believe that the future of work (when speaking to young people) lies in freelancing or gig-work, and seeking remote opportunities beyond their country’s borders. Why?

In the eyes of HR experts, those that make up this year’s class of fresh graduates and new entrants to the workforce can be described as such:

• They’re likely to hop around jobs, and value experience and meaningful careers over high pay
• They seem to dislike the way of the traditional career ladder and are more likely than the previous generations to opt out of such a path.
• What’ll they be doing instead? According to them, this generation of fresh graduates will be starting businesses, or working remotely whether it be freelance, gig work, or as outsourced workers.

However, it isn’t so simple to dive into those things, especially for fresh graduates. Do fresh graduates want to go it on their own by starting businesses? According to the Indonesia Millennial Report of 2019 by IDN Media, out of the 1400 respondents from 12 major cities in Indonesia surveyed, 32.1 percent of millennials want to be successful entrepreneurs in the future. Keyword being in the future.

In another survey where respondents were asked if they preferred being corporate employees or start their own business, and why they preferred each, those that chose to be business owners chose so because of the independence, the freedom from having to follow orders from a (potentially overly demanding) boss, and the possibility of a higher income should their business take off. Seemingly, a majority of fresh graduates favor freedom and independence, and that’s what leads them to start businesses. A similar preference might lead others to seek a freelance career of mostly remote work.

As I’ve mentioned before, the HR directors of the various webinars I’ve attended were very eager to promote freelancing and gig work as the primary thing of the future, however, there are a few pitfalls associated with that style of career.

• Freelancers run the risk of getting paid late or accepting unrealistic deadlines from people unfamiliar with their field of work, especially if they lack the experience to know the range of compensation and reasonable deadlines in a structured corporate setting. Sometimes clients will demand more from them if contracts don’t fully detail the scope and limits of their deliverables and can also face condescending clients.
• Lack of understanding of processes, and experience obtained from working full time in companies. When freelancing in the fields of advertising, social media campaign design, defining organizational culture, or building IT infrastructure, having experience in those fields in a structured, corporate setting will aid greatly in understanding business contexts and asking the right questions.
• The ‘Rona: people are cutting down on initiatives to add value, making their processes leaner, and simply focusing on surviving which eliminates much of the work that freelancers do, making it difficult for those to start out freelancing today.

For some, starting a business or freelancing will still be an extremely viable path towards their future. Given my lack of experience in the world of HR, or freelancing, or outsourcing, I can’t say that I can offer advice aside from to ask these HR directors and specialists to listen. Theoretically, remote and gig work seems great, but as stated previously, there are many potentially career-breaking reasons why at least for the foreseeable future, fresh graduates will still aim to get their foot into the doors of the corporate world. But in order to get them to stay, make the workplace better for them. Listen to them instead of blindly believing stereotypes that claim to describe an entire generation. Ask them for their input, and see where their feedback can be implemented reasonably within their company. While I understand the intent of these HR directors was likely to offer options that suit the traits they believe new entrants in the workforce to have, the way they can have more of an impact is by engaging with the newest entrants into the workforce in their own organizations.