Australian workers in freelance shift

Traditional working hours of 9 to 5 are being thrown out for more flexible arrangements and freelancing, as new research shows 92 per cent of Australians are looking for ways to supplement their income this year.

The Airtasker Future of Work Research Monitor January 2015, based on a representative survey by Pureprofile of 1,004 employed Australians nationwide, found 84.8 per cent strongly agree or moderately agree that: “The traditional employment model of the 9-5 office job is inflexible for workers in 2015 and into the future.”

Airtasker co-founder and chief executive, Tim Fung explained that workers are crying out for increased flexibility from their employers and online platforms are booming because they allow people to choose what they work on and earn a solid return for their efforts.

The major results of the research include:

• 43.5 per cent of working Australians say they are either “likely” or “very likely” to look for a new job in 2015
• 76.4 per cent strongly agree or moderately agree that: “The flexibility of freelancing / working for yourself makes up for the lack of certainty/predictability of work”
• 92 per cent of Australians are looking to supplement their income in 2015
• 68 per cent of Australians are considering earning some extra money in 2015 through online platforms such as Airtasker, Freelancer, 99designs, UberX, AirBnB, etc
• 4 per cent of Australians are already using these online platforms to earn some extra money (10per cent of those aged 25-34)

Respondents were asked what the most important thing in a job was the overall ranking in order of importance was:

• Pay
• Flexibility to choose hours
• Predictability of work
• Satisfaction of helping others

The research also revealed 64.7 per cent of Australians believe working in a more flexible environment would lead to increased motivation and productivity and 73.2 per cent believe it would increase enjoyment at work.

 

This article is adapted from The Daily Telegraph – Australian Workers in mass Freelance Shift view the original article here