About two in three freelancers in Belgium are confident about their careers, despite the uncertain economic situation, and over 70% would not go back to working as a full-time employee, according to a survey by leading European freelance platform Malt.
Over 5,000 freelancers in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK took part in the third 'Freelancing in Europe' survey. The results show that freelancing is becoming increasingly important in the Belgian and European labour market.
"You can compare it to the teleworking hype," Laurens Van Kelf, who freelances as a brand designer, told The Brussels Times. "After the Covid-19 pandemic, it is definitely here to stay. Everyone can see the benefits."
Credit: STUDIO KELF
Like more than 90% of freelancers, Van Kelf first worked as a full-time employee before he made the switch. "I am doing the same job as I was then. In terms of projects, I was not completely satisfied and I wanted to learn faster than I could within the framework of the company."
This is also reflected in the survey: Belgian freelancers place high value on the freedom to keep educating themselves and spend an average of four hours a week on training and expanding their knowledge.
"In the study, we found that freelancers' skills are sometimes up to 25% more innovative than the market average," Malt's Benelux Director Malik Azzouzi told The Brussels Times. "Professions in the tech and data sector, such as data engineers, data scientists or web developers, are now changing the game thanks to skills in AI or machine learning, for example."
A long-term career choice
Despite the challenges in the European economy, most freelancers are not worried about their careers: 66% of Belgian freelancers are confident about their future, confirming the European trend (69%).
This is partly because more than half of them earn more as freelancers than as employees. In Belgium, seven in ten respondents also said they became freelancers for personal reasons, such as flexibility and client choice, rather than external factors. "You choose your own hours, clients and projects," Van Kelf added.
Today, 75% would even refuse an assignment with a client if it is not in line with their values; the freedom and flexibility to pick their own clients offered by this status are determining factors.
Credit: Belga
When asked if they would be willing to return to employee status, 93% said they are not looking to be employed full-time again. The same is true for Van Kelf: "Should I be offered a good position somewhere and freelancing is no option, I would of course consider it. But I'm not planning to return to employee status."
At a time when employers are finding it more difficult to recruit and are looking for increasingly specific profiles, and there are more and more freelancers, Azzouzi is convinced there will be a freelancing revolution.
"More companies are integrating freelancing as an integral part of their HR strategy," he said. "This is only the beginning."
