The Future of Work – The End of The Permanent Employee

The concept of work is always changing. The days of finishing school and moving into your ‘forever’ job are over. The modern worker is looking for a more fluid form of employment, something that can grow and change with them.

That’s exactly what contracting offers.

Contracting: Good For Businesses and Employers

The flexibility of contractors allows businesses to scale up and down as business requires quickly. It also allows the contractors to move between jobs and take more or less work depending on the needs of their lifestyle.

Flexible recruitment and flexible employment are the future of a market that is changing every single day.

A Growing Market and a Skills Shortage

Since 2009, the contractor market has grown by 26 per cent and is now worth an estimated £109 billion a year.

This is a valuable market for a world that is rapidly going online and dealing with a skill shortage in the digital market. So, if you’re a business running out of permanent options or you’re a contractor with digital skills, the future is bright.

The flexible working market means experts can enter and exit projects when required, saving businesses money and keeping skilled contractors and freelancers in work.

The Contractor Lifestyle

The contractor/freelancer lifestyle has been romanticised, but there are still plenty of perks. Everyone wants variety in their work, and as you hop between jobs and move in and out of projects you’ll find yourself dealing with a whole new set of challenges, so you’ll always be excited and engaged.

You’ll find that you usually get paid a better wage than permanent employees and you won’t face the same restrictions on things like annual leave, sick days and even notice periods. This works both ways, but some people prefer to chart their own course, and that’s what contracting does for you.

Read our blog on the comparison between the employee and contractor lifestyle to learn more.

So, What Is The Future Of Work?

Predicting the future is always tricky. But we can make educated guesses. The numbers show us that the trend towards contractor and freelance work is already well in swing and will continue for long into the future.

Why? Because it suits the modern worker, it suits the modern employer and it suits the modern marketplace.

How do you make the most of this trend? By positioning yourself to make the most of it. Acquire skills in the areas with shortages or apply your current skills in areas you never thought they would fit. The job market has changed. Tech companies need freelance writers. Publishing companies need freelance software designers, and everyone needs web developers.

As always, the future is now. Don’t pine for the days of stability, make the most of the uncertainty. Join iContract and connect yourself with opportunity – your life will never be the same again, and we mean that in the best possible sense.