As the global pandemic has swept across the nations of the world, causing havoc and taking lives, we have all had to open our eyes.
It’s no secret that millions of peoples livelihoods have been negatively affected and job losses are at an all-time high, but when you work for yourself, surely things can’t be as bad?
According to Forbes, the pandemic looks set to increase the demand for freelance workers, and it is little wonder when we consider that the call for remote work and working from home is clear – even when things die down, employees are demanding they perform a portion of their tasks from the comfort of their own homes.
However, whilst businesses are starting to make use of the services that freelancers have to offer, there is no denying that for the first few months of the outbreak, work was slow.
Businesses closed down, jobs were lost and many people simply couldn’t justify forking out for services that were at the bottom of most priority lists – staying afloat and healthy being at the forefront of peoples minds at this time.
For me, I noticed a huge reduction in clients when the UK lockdown was announced. It was certainly something that terrified me but I was fortunate enough to be continuing to make enough to get by. Which was more than I could say for a lot of other people that I know.
It’s heartbreaking to see those that you care about losing their livelihoods when you are still able to maintain a career – albeit a substandard one. But over time, and as things have begun to ease, work has picked back up again.
As countries begin to return to a new normal and society gets used to new rules, the demand for work is once again rising – not quite to a standard that us freelancers would like, but we are getting there slowly. And I have to keep reminding myself that I have been one of the lucky ones.
And it isn’t just writers, with a wealth of people relying on freelance careers from web design to translating services, illustration to marketing and everything in between, it has never been more important to show support for the people who have forged careers for themselves.
More often than not, people go into freelance work because they have a passion for something – I can honestly say that I love what I do and I realise how fortunate I am to be able to do it for a living. I’m sure many other people also feel this so making use of their services to help them recover from the effects of Covid is surely something to consider.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of my loyal and new clients for giving me the chance to continue doing the work that I love. To you, you may simply be buying a product and using a service, but for me – you’re putting food in my kids mouths, helping us to pay our bills and giving us the financial freedom to enjoy life – even better, you are allowing me to pursue my passion.
So when we ask ourselves ‘What is the effect of Covid on freelancers?‘ I could honestly say that it has given us a chance to fully appreciate what we do and how fortunate we are.
Karen Bradshaw Writing 