A new survey has reported a significant rise in the number of UK individuals shunning permanent employment so that they can work for themselves.
The recent CIPD Megatrends report, ‘More Selfies? Self-Employment in the UK’, has revealed that since numbers began climbing in 2001, self-employed workers now make up almost 15% of the UK labour force.
According to the survey, a growing number of women and part time workers are the main reason for this rise in self-employment, and it is believed that the UK’s regulatory climate is a key factor behind the continued popularity with this method of working.
The CIPD also believes that technological advances provide an explanation – modern technology has dramatically reduced set-up costs in a number of industries and allowed people to start their own business from home rather than lease office or workshop space.
Interestingly, data shows that those who work for themselves are generally a lot more satisfied and happy in their jobs compared to permanent employees – fewer self-employed workers ‘feel under excessive pressure at work’ and more ‘achieve the right balance between home and work life’.
In the report, Peter Cheese, CIPD Chief Executive, says, “The increase in self-employment looks unlikely to rewind. Organisations will need increasingly to factor the self-employed into their business and HR strategies. As the transaction costs that bind organisations together reduce and change, they will need to decide which activities are best managed directly and which are best handed to one of a distributed network of one-person businesses.”
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Simon Dolan is the Managing Director for Contractor Umbrella Ltd, one of the UK’s Most Respected Umbrella Companies and founder member of AllUmbrellaCompaniesAreEqual. Learn more about Lucy on Google. |
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