Don’t like your job? Don’t whine to me about it, gu niang, just quit. You could always just “freelance”, if you’re self conscious about social stigma or just want a more high-sounding title, go with “independent contractor”.
Stigma of Freelancing?
Freelance. This deliberately ambiguous term is, according to the NTUC handbook, is defined by: “Whether payment is project based or regular, who has control over recruitment, payment of wage, production operations, provision of work who provides the tools, equipment, working plant and material whether the provision of service is at one’s own account and risk ability to seek out other opportunities while working.“ Granted, telling some judgmental, unenlightened fool that you are a freelancer might be equivalent to saying:
“I am a jobless, untalented slacker.”
But, I prefer the optimistic perspective: You are an investor, taking a bet on what you feel is an undervalued commodity – yourself. The social stigma against freelancing seems to stem from a cultural bias in addition to the perceived lack of opportunities and the average wage difference with traditional employment, as well as foreign exchange prices.
Freelancing can be annoying. Having to find clients, compete with a global market of highly skilled workers who depress wages, lack of CPF and benefits, receiving full payment and dealing with troublesome clients on your own. But there are lots of great things about freelance work. Setting your own hours, wearing whatever you want, working wherever you want, choosing your assignments, setting your rates, exploring the meaning of life.
The common Singaporean greeting of “Hi, what do you do? How much do you earn?” has recently been supplanted by questions like “Are you happy”, “Do you like what you do”, “Are you fulfilled?”
I don’t think such stigma are the result of anything more than a perceived lack of opportunity Increase in the accessibility and currency of information is key to eroding the psychological barriers to entry that deter entrants into the exciting, risk-filled world of self-employment. The freelance marketplace is in some ways a realization of a ‘perfect competition ideal’. Perhaps what needs to be done is to increase the attractiveness of freelancing as a viable alternative to paid, stable work.
Plugging the Gap
Outside of academic qualifications, very little emphasis or even awareness is placed on alternative signals which are of far greater significance in the online job market. Online presence, profiles, portfolios and reputation are gaining prominence amid a market saturated with college degrees and buffeted by grade inflation. A strong and active contingent workforce is an engine for growth not only because it combats inflationary pressure while improving the matching efficiency of the labor market – it also results in an adaptive market which catalyzes innovation and entrepreneurship.
Online freelancing platforms, proliferation of small specialized firms, new manufacturing, management, marketing and media technologies are changing the status quo. Online freelancing has many gaps to plug. One obvious one would be the disproportionate representation of different industries. The other, is the lack of knowledge when it comes to the rights that freelancers have in Singapore. Freelancers who are union members fall under the category of General Branch (GB) Members (employees of Non-Unionised Companies). They will be able to receive legal consultations should they encounter problems. NTUC’s law works initiative is a welcomed first step to reducing the perceived risk of engaging in freelance work, by spreading awareness of freelancer’s rights and offering pro-bono legal services for freelancers who are mostly unable to afford them. For those who are not union members, they can approach the Singapore Mediation Centre for a fee to resolve contractual issues with employers, alternatively they can contract a lawyer.
It’s interesting that freelancers are not typically understood as a precursor to larger start up firms in the business ecology. Freelancing could also reasonably be understood as a gateway into entrepreneurship – freelancers are the eukaryotes to the multicellular life of large, job creating, GDP raising, news making firms. There should be a handbook for hirers as well. Also, one for how to expand beyond a sole proprietorship and dealing with liability issues.
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Featured image courtesy of Simplify This.
Filed under: Issues Tagged: Freelancer, Freelancing in Singapore 
