Introduction
According to a new report, remote workers are starting new businesses behind their bosses’ backs. The rise of independent and remote working is bringing new challenges that traditional business models are not prepared to handle, such as how to increase productivity, creativity, and innovation while reducing costs.
The rise of remote and independent working is bringing new challenges.
Remote working has been on the rise for several years, with remote workers now making up one in five workers in the US. In addition, the number of independent contractors is also growing, representing 35 percent of the American workforce. But while these numbers may be high, one problem has not yet been addressed: how to grow your business consultant when you can’t physically meet with clients?
A recent survey by Upwork and Freelancers Union found that 71 per cent of freelancers are interested in starting their own businesses someday—and more than half have already taken steps towards doing so. But most employers aren’t aware of this; only one-third said they knew their employees wanted to strike out independently.
Remote workers are starting their businesses.
- Remote workers are starting their businesses.
- The side hustle is becoming a full-time job.
- Workers are finding more time for creativity, innovation, and fulfilment.
The business culture shift needed to combat this issue includes:
- Make it easier to fire people by making them work remotely or allowing them to telecommute; that way, you can get rid of them without having to fly out and see who your biggest problem is (or at least make sure that they’re not doing something illegal).
- If employees want to spend their free time working on side projects outside the office, don’t stop them-encourage it! After all, who cares if they’re being productive at home instead of wasting time in the office like most employees do on Friday afternoons (which is why so many companies have blocked sites like YouTube)?
Side hustles are becoming part-time jobs.
In addition to the obvious benefits of side startups – extra income, experience in a new field, and so on – they can also be used to build a full-time job portfolio.
This is especially true for those who work remotely and want to move on from their current employer. Even if you’re looking forward to getting experience in your industry across multiple companies, you must have more than one side hustle or day job under your belt. You’ll need these freelance gigs when it comes time for interviews; hiring managers will see them as evidence that you can work independently (even if they don’t know about the other jobs).
Workers are finding more time for creativity and innovation.
For many remote workers, working independently has been a boon. They are finding more time for creativity and innovation and business startups behind their bosses’ backs.
Some remote workers have even found that their side hustles have become full-time jobs. According to a study by Harris Interactive and InfoTrends, 35% of independent workers have started their own business in the last year alone.
A business culture shift is needed to combat the issue.
You might want to consider how you can encourage a more flexible culture in your workplace. For example, could you be more flexible with your employees? Could you give them a little more leeway or let them work from home occasionally? It’s worth checking out if it means that employees would feel less pressured to hide their side businesses from their employers.
I understand that not every company will want to work remotely. Still, employers need to be open-minded about this option—and even consider it an alternative sometimes. Part of the problem with remote working is that many companies don’t take it seriously as an option, so they don’t consider how they could make it work for their needs. It may seem like an easy solution at first glance (after all, who can argue against flexibility and freedom?). However, challenges still need solving before it becomes feasible in most situations.
According to a new report, remote workers are starting new business ventures and need to be open about it.
The report, commissioned by Remote. Co and conducted by OnePoll surveyed 2,000 remote workers who have started their businesses and found that one in 10 is working on one without their boss’ knowledge. The data also revealed that more than half of all respondents (54%) have considered starting a business on the side; 30% would consider doing so if they could do it from home.
The top three reasons why people haven’t told their employers about their side ventures:
- Fear of losing a job — 46%
- Fear of being forced to choose between a career and a new venture — 42%
- Unclear rules from employer — 39%
Conclusion
The rise of remote and independent working is bringing new challenges. The solution to this is open communication between employers and employees so that it’s clear how they can balance their work life with entrepreneurship. Businesses should also be flexible in terms of hours so that workers don’t feel pressured into working long hours just because they’re not physically at the office.