Freelance Work. Pleasure Or Peril ?

Flexible working has been hailed as a great opportunity for older workers by policy makers, campaigning groups and management writers. They say that freelance consulting, and other portfolio-type self-employment, means more choice and control for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

New research from the Open University Business School reveals that the reality is very different from the hype, with many older freelancers struggling to survive in a highly competitive marketplace.

Dr Kerry Platman’s report The Price of Freedom: the myths and realities of the portfolio career for experienced, older professionals examines the allure of freelance employment and contrasts it with the harsh reality experienced by many workers.

She looks in close detail at the media industry where freelance working is a well-established practice but finds that freelance workers suffer innumerable hardships and insecurities. These tennd to get more pronounced, not less so, as people enter their 50s.

"By the year 2021 the number of people aged over 50 is projected to rise by more than five million," says Dr Platman, Research Fellow at the Open University Business School.

“More and more older workers have been leaving full time employment well ahead of pension age due to early retirement and redundancy deals. They need to work to live but often cannot find another permanent position. Often flexible or freelance working, which can also be known as a ‘portfolio career’, is considered an attractive option.

“But many of the forces which squeeze older workers out of permanent posts also squeeze them out of freelancing too. They can be seen by younger bosses as out-of-touch, lacking in cutting edge skills and less adaptable than younger freelancers.”

Dr Platman found that in some fields freelancing was a highly lucrative career path, regardless of age. But the majority of freelance workers, particularly those in the older age group, were poorly paid and suffered a hugely insecure existence.

Freelancers are often viewed as a disposable commodity that can be ‘hired and fired’ as the market requires. As one manager admits in the report:
“I don’t have to do the National Insurance for them or the tax, or PAYE, or BUPA. If they’re sick for a month I couldn’t give a toss, in the nicest possible way, because there’s no relationship there. There’s no financial bond between us and if they get run over by a car tomorrow I find another freelancer.”

Dr Platman believes that portfolio careers for older workers are appealing because:

· Policy makers see portfolio working as a way of extending careers and so increasing income tax and reducing welfare benefit spending

· Older individuals see such jobs as a way of having more choice and conrol over their careers

· Employers wish to use freelancers to fill the gaps in their workforce when they shed full-time and permanent positions

· Society as a whole approves of the ideal of social inclusion for older workers

In reality Dr Platman found that freelance work was relentless, precarious and often unsatisfactory. Poor management practices, a lack of labour protection, no training, and ignoring the skills and experience of older workers in preference to younger freelancers are all commonplace.

"We can’t afford to lose the expertise of a growing section of the workforce," says Dr Platman. "Older people bring knowledge, commitment and wisdom to organisations. We need to find new ways to harness this. We must devise flexible ways of working which are cost-effective for managers and manageable for older workers."