Dealing with the Employment Mentality
Credit: Cecilia Picco on sxc.hu
Many are the freelancers who keep a foot in the employment world by serving as a part-time instructor at a community college or university.
This is a great way to have an income platform while building one’s freelance business. And, for those who don’t care for being alone with just a computer for company, it’s motivation to get out of the house for some high-quality human interaction.
One of my close friends is a public relations consultant who also holds the title of lecturer in a university department of communication. She’s been a lecturer before, and the university invited her back at the beginning of this semester.
Being the diligent social networker that she is, she updated her online profile to include the lecturer position. And from somewhere deep in the recesses of this social networking site came an e-mail announcing her new job.
One of these e-mails landed in my in-box. I responded with my own e-mail offering congratulations.
According to my friend, a lot of other people did the same thing. More than a few of them wrote her to ask what had happened to her freelancing business. Had she closed it? Was she cutting back? Would she still keep them as clients?
My friend had more than a little explaining to do to her clientele. She wasn’t about to give up on them – or that steady paycheck from her university lecturer’s position.
Her problem is in need of a name, and I’m going to give it one: the “Employment Mentality.” It’s quite prevalent in the United States – and in many other countries. The Employment Mentality treats one’s job – even if it’s as a part-time lecturer at a university as paramount. And freelancing? Well, that’s just a little something that you do on the side.
Part of the reason for this elevation of employment over freelancing has to do with the fact that many jobs – but not all of them – come with fringe benefits.
Part of the reason for this elevation of employment over freelancing has to do with the fact that many jobs – but not all of them – come with fringe benefits.
In the United States, fringe benefits packages often include employer-paid health insurance, which can be quite costly for individuals to obtain on their own. In this country, the lack of affordable individual health insurance keeps a lot of potential freelancers employed by others.
The affordability problem is one that my friend is dealing with. She dropped her individual health insurance policy because it just got too expensive. And the university doesn’t offer health insurance to its lecturers. Clearly, the Employment Mentality has its limits.
A note to those of you who are reading this article from outside the United States: Please don’t think that all Americans think highly of our current health insurance system. My friend sure doesn’t. I don’t either. We’re among the millions of Americans who are working to bring national health insurance to this country.
Tips for those straddling the employment and freelancing worlds
- Recognize that the Employment Mentality exists, and that you’ll have to deal with it. This can be as simple as letting your freelancing clients know when you won’t be available because you’re teaching a class. Or working in your family business. Or whatever you do in the employment realm.
- Realize that you’re not going to be able to control everything. Like when social networking sites send e-mails announcing your new job. And all you’ve done is update your profile. So, be prepared to do some explaining to your clients.
- Be on the lookout for the opportunities that can come your way. Your employment can be a good source for freelancing clients. There are quite a few people who launched their freelancing careers by making Former Employer, Inc. into their first client. And there are others who’ve networked for clients via their part-time jobs. Last, but not least, there are the weary freelancers who tire of gig-chasing and happily find their part-time job blossom into a full-time position.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Cecilia Picco.
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That’s an interesting point about how jobs are often prioritized due to their benefits, and I’d agree, although I think that steady income is a big factor as well.
I have to take issue with the Eurocentrism bit though. I don’t think the disclaimer was necessary, and I’d also like to point out that even if you don’t like the current system, a sentiment I agree with, there is more than one alternative. In addition, Europeans disagree with one another about how best to manage their society, just like we do here in the U.S.
In the future, I think that keeping the simplistic politicizing out of the writing will make a better article. But otherwise, thanks for your work.
I struggle with the employment mentality, mostly because I have always had “normal” jobs and have always been afraid of the vagabond nature of freelancing. As I get more freelance work however I am trying to open my mind up to abandoning the day job. On the other hand benefits and a steady pay check are addictive.
As to the insurance notes, I think our system is fatally flawed, I personally have high cholesterol (hereditary) and cannot get insurance on my own. The only people who seem content with the current system are either wealthy or are the remaining few who still have a robust benefits package.
Fringe benefits are one of the reasons I’m contemplating to go back to a part-time job. Here in the Philippines, health care costs are shouldered by the employer most of the time through HMOs. If a freelancer does that on his/her own,it can be costly, too. Plus, the number of government-mandated memberships and tax filing could also be full of hassle and inconvenience. It’s much convenient to have a job whose HR department can take care of all those things.
>> the “Employment Mentality.” It’s quite prevalent in the United States – and in many other countries. The Employment Mentality treats one’s job – even if it’s as a part-time lecturer at a university as paramount. And freelancing? Well, that’s just a little something that you do on the side.
It is a reflection of reality, and at-will employment laws.
I disagree with this post in some ways. It feels to me like a case of wanting your cake and eating it too.
Here’s the deal. Employers view permanent employment as a certain type of deal: regular monetary compensation in exchange for your physical presence, your regular attendance, and undivided attention to their problems and situations.
Everyone can rationalize that they are a “professional” and that it is perfectly OK if they get all of their assigned duties on a job performed in a fraction of the time allocated. But the fact is that virtually (almost) every employer will consider you underutilized in that situation and they will exert pressure to fill more of your allocated work day with *their* work.
Do you desire a different deal, to negotiate each item of work on a case by case basis? Then you *must* be a full time contractor. You really must go into business for yourself in that event.
Given that almost all employers expect hourly attendance, attention and presence in exchange for your pay, it then follows that they do not want to hear about anything that competes with attention for the task that they are paying you to perform for them. They don’t even want to hear that you finished early and you pursued a personal interest while on their clock.
I don’t like it either. But that’s the bargain that you strike when you accept permanent employment in the US.
So the PR and image problems that result from accepting a permanent job while keeping a foot planted firmly in the freelance world are a reflection of actual reality. Most people (and virtually *all* clients) expect that if you take a job, you are then becoming unavailable.
Your ability to “deny” this and to present your part time job publicly as just another “situation” will depend upon the acceptance by your employer. If they see it as competition for your mind and time, then you may be out the door when they find out. If the permanent job is flexible and the employer thinks that way as well, then you may be OK.
This set of assumptions is quite deeply embedded in our culture and I believe that it’s futile to fight it. But I also think that it’s borne of a divided mind. You want freedom and opportunity but you also want the economic stability of a permanent job. I think you need to choose one or the other.
I disagree that we should choose one over the other. Look at those who work a day job and freelance on the side successfully. They aren’t exceptions to the rule.
Good attitude no matter where appropriate.
Good points, I’m thinking about getting a part-time job as well as freelancing to get the social benefits of having colleagues as well as the things you mention.
But people do keep calling that sort of thing a ‘proper job’ to me as if I’m slacking off by working for myself. I pretend I’m not offended!
(from the UK)
I made the break from my part-time job back in the spring to focus on my freelance writing. Now people think I don’t do anything. They have no idea that I’ve actually won life’s lottery while they’re still running the rat race.