Nowadays many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation. Why might this be the case? What would be the disadvantages of being self-employed?

These days, freelancing seems to be a more attractive choice for people compared to employment in a regular firm or business organization. I believe that the shift towards self-employment is largely due to conveniences that it provides and there are also some negatives to take heed of. People increasingly prefer being self-employed for a number of reasons. Not having to make forced decisions and being able to do job related tasks independently is the most obvious advantage of it. While working in a company may limit employees freedom in terms of decision making and strategic planning, working on their own enables people to be autonomous in every respect even down to the smallest details of the working process. It is not all enjoyable to know that the project you have been tirelessly working on might be turned down just because it is slightly inconsistent with the company's current vision. A further benefit that freelance work offers is flexibility. Workers will be able to choose working hours that mostly suit them and when there is an unexpected change in their schedule it is easy to make necessary alterations without having to ask about it from the authorities. These factors usually make self-employment an appealing option for many. On the other hand, there are some drawbacks that a person has to consider before embarking on this type of career. Firstly, a worker will be deprived of the opportunities that a regular workplace can offer. Employees working within the same organization are bound to meet each other on a daily basis and they can exchange different ideas or work toward achieving a common goal. Self-employment, however, cannot provide the same sense of belonging to a team or free flow of ideas among colleagues which might be useful for personal growth. Increased responsibility is another factor to be considered. Being your own boss involves extra obligations such as managing your company's finances, negotiating contracts with partnering organizations, calculating the risks and making sure that everything works properly as a unified mechanism which can be too overwhelming to bear. Thus, it is sensible to think thoroughly before deciding on freelancing. In conclusion, self-employment appeals to people mainly because of the autonomy and flexibility it offers, however the negatives such as lack of interaction and added responsibility should not be overlooked either. Personally, I think that if a person is able to take on more responsibilities and self-motivated working independently might be their best bet.