blog
Patricia Jacobs
Career News Oct 24, 2018 0

The Trend of Self-employment

“Self-employed” is the state of working for oneself as a freelance or the owner of a business rather than for an employer. Hundreds of workers are leaving corporations and becoming self-employed.

Taking the route of self-employment presents a new set of challenges, even for experienced professionals. Self-discipline, motivation and the ability to adjust to pursue real opportunities are just some of the necessary factors to run a successful business of your own.

Currently, over 10% of South Africa’s workforce is self-employed. According to a report released by the International Labour Organisation, the most common answer for why people are self-employed is “to gain greater independence”.

Due to the difficulties faced in the job market in South Africa, another dominant cause of the rise in self-employment is the lack of finding jobs. Further reasons include unhappiness at traditional jobs, desire for greater flexibility, choice of own workspace or constant conflict with bosses or colleagues.

Over the last few years, there has been a significant mindset shift and with it has emerged a workforce which values flexibility over stability. It has led to a large increase in entrepreneurial activity in the country.

Another interesting trend is that millennials are some of the biggest contributors to this self-employment and studies show that many of them are choosing self-employment as a career option.

Here are some of the necessary characteristics for successful self-employment:

  • Be prepared to put in constant and consistent effort
  • Be able to plan ahead
  • Ability to recognise opportunities and pursue them
  • Self-motivation
  • Flexible
  • Be able to deal with uncertainty
  • Have great ideas that are not being heard
  • Good decision-maker

However, self-employment does not come without some major disadvantages.  Self-employment entails a lot more than just being able to choose your hours and follow your passions.

It carries huge responsibilities not only to yourself but your family, with challenges you may have never faced in a regular job. A business owner can also be a very lonely role, and one has to take a lot of risks with no guaranteed paycheck at the end of the day.

Let thoughts of self-employment be a thing of the past and let Professional Sourcing help you find your dream job. We have a strong reputation for highly developed recruitment expertise within our specialisation areas.

Professional Sourcing has a strong reputation for highly developed recruitment expertise within our specialisation areas. We develop strong long-term relationships with our loyal clients and bluechip employers. Allow us to help you deal with your frustrations of a lengthy hiring process.

Professional Sourcing is a top-tier South African-based recruitment agency operating internationally, IPM accredited, LEVEL 2 BEE RATED and 51% Black Owned.

Our agency specialises in professional placements (senior and specialist talent) and exclusive skills recruitment to a wide range of industries, including JSE’s top 100 companies, SMEs and the Public Sector. -- Patricia Jacobs
Tags

Related Blogs

Leave us a comment