Improved Mental Wellbeing & Purpose Driven Work Top Drivers According to the Second Annual GrowTal “The State of Freelancing” Report
Leading Talent Marketplace for Freelance Marketers Releases Findings from 2022 Report, in Partnership with Opinium, to Showcase Freelancers Thoughts on Mental Well-Being, Economic Downturn, the Great Resignation, and Other Topics
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GrowTal, the marketplace for hiring top-level marketing professionals most quickly and efficiently, today announced its findings from The Second Annual GrowTal “The State of Freelancing” Report, a survey of skilled service freelancers. Done in partnership with Opinium, the global and award-winning strategic insight agency, The Second Annual GrowTal “The State of Freelancing” Report showcases responses from hundreds of freelancers to several questions that pertained to both freelancers and marketing freelancers.
The main findings from the Second Annual GrowTal “The State of Freelancing Report” included:
- 79% of freelancers have noticed their mental well-being improved, which rises to 84% among freelancers aged 18-41 (Gen Z or Millennials)
- 57% of freelancers are not interested in leaving freelance to focus on a traditional job
- 64% of freelancers surveyed say they voluntarily quit their traditional job to pursue freelance, up from 50% in the 2021 survey
- 71% of freelancers are concerned about the impact inflation is having/could have on their work
- 72% have found it less challenging to find work opportunities during this period of high inflation
- Top payment methods for freelancers are PayPal (51%), Cash (45%), Electronic funds transfer (33%), Paper check (26%), Zelle (23%), and Venmo (22%)
- 95% of freelancers surveyed do not list cryptocurrency as their preferred method of payment, down from 92% among Gen Z and Millennial freelancers
- 81% of freelancers believe freelancing will become more and more common in the future
The Allure of Freelance
Compared to a traditional job, freelancing is more conducive to a purposeful career aligned with your passions. Eight in ten (82%) freelancers have found their freelance work to be more purposeful or fulfilling than their experience working a traditional job (14%). Freelancing is more financially rewarding too. Half (52%) say their freelance work is more financially rewarding than working a traditional job (39%).
Furthermore, nine in ten (89%) agree that freelance allows them to pursue their passion. Freelancing is an opportunity to make a career around something you care about – which is often difficult to achieve in the traditional workforce.
Mental Well-being
Beyond finding freelancing financially and professionally rewarding, eight in ten (79%) freelancers have noticed their mental well-being improve. This rises to 84% among freelancers aged 18-41 (Gen Z or Millennials). This is up ten percentage points from the 2021 State of Freelancing Report, where 69% said their mental well-being has improved since working freelance.
Inflation’s Effect on Freelancers
Freelancers are concerned about the impact inflation has/could have on their work (71%) – only 10% of freelancers are not worried about it. Marketing freelancers are slightly less concerned about inflation compared to other skilled services freelancers who don’t offer a marketing service (68% vs. 75%).
For many freelancers, inflation has forced them to adapt their business strategy to safeguard themselves against higher costs. One way freelancers have adapted is by maximizing potential income streams. While those who work traditional jobs rely on their companies to offer bonuses or pay increases during high times of inflation, freelancers depend on themselves to create extra cash. A third (34%) of freelancers have pursued additional avenues for freelance work, such as learning a new skill set to expand their offerings.
A “silver lining” for freelancers in the economic downturn, respondents say that some companies have been outsourcing work to cut back on their costs. In addition, one in five (19%) freelancers say this period of high inflation has positively impacted their work because it has led to more opportunities.
Great Resignation Trend
Freelancers are less interested in leaving freelance to pursue traditional work compared to last year’s State of Freelancing report. In this year’s report, three in five (57%) freelancers are uninterested in leaving freelance to focus solely on a traditional job, while one in five (21%) would be interested in this.
Meanwhile, in 2021, two-fifths (37%) of freelancers expressed interest in leaving freelance for a traditional career (+16 pp). This suggests that retention rates in freelancing are increasing. Having decided to step away from the traditional workforce, freelancers are increasingly unlikely to look back.
Freelancing to become more common in the future
Workers have found myriad benefits in working freelance, including the ability to pursue their passion, manage their careers, and find improved mental well-being (to name a few). With such a strong track record, it is understandable why eight in ten (81%) freelancers believe freelancing will become more and more common in the future.
“We are very excited to release the Second Annual GrowTal 2022 State of Freelancing Report. It’s no surprise to see that so many freelancers are finding fulfillment in this chosen line of work. We are excited to be a small part of the greater ecosystem that is helping experts to improve their mental health and financial well-being through independent work,” said Bryan Karas, CEO & Founder, GrowTal.
“As a self-starter and entrepreneur, moving from the corporate world to that of high-level freelancing has been a life-changing experience. Aside from the usual benefits – quality of life, lack of commute, etc. – it has allowed me to work on multiple projects simultaneously, increase my knowledge base, and allow my core business to grow. Having a partner like GrowTal that can help with the business development side of my work only makes it more efficient and profitable,” said Michael D’Elicio, CEO, Dweeso Digital Marketing, and Marketing Freelancer, GrowTal.
Report Dataset
Opinium surveyed 219 skilled service freelancers between Wednesday, August 24th, 2022, and Tuesday, September 6th, 2022, on behalf of GrowTal, Inc. Skilled service freelance pertains to services that require a certain set of skills, additional training, or education to be able to offer proficiently. This definition excludes freelance work such as food delivery (e.g., DoorDash), dog-watching (e.g., Rover), etc.
Freelancers who offered the following services were classified as marketing freelancers: branding, public relations, paid social media advertising, social media management, search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, strategy/ interim chief marketing officer, programmatic marketing, product marketing, e-commerce retention, and strategy, Amazon presence management, email marketing, direct mail marketing, native ad marketing, writing/content marketing, web development, graphic design, ad creative, US design, and data analytics.
To download the full report, visit http://www.growtal.com/the-state-of-freelancing-2022/.
About GrowTal
GrowTal is the go-to talent marketplace for hiring remote top marketing experts in the most simplified way. GrowTal connects companies with top marketing talent without costly recruiting efforts or the risk and commitment that comes with traditional hiring practices. The GrowTal platform finds, evaluates, and connects independent contractors who provide marketing and other professional services with clients and organizations seeking their expertise.
Founded in 2019, GrowTal is led by its founder Bryan Karas, a former Facebook executive and current CEO of digital marketing agency Playbook Media. GrowTal is headquartered in San Francisco and is backed by private investors. For more information, visit GrowTal.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About Opinium Research LLP
Founded in 2007 Opinium is an award-winning strategic insight agency built on the belief that in a world of uncertainty and complexity, success depends on the ability to stay on the pulse of what people think, feel and do. Creative and inquisitive, the Opinium team is passionate about empowering clients to make the decisions that matter. Opinium works with organizations to define and overcome strategic challenges – helping them to get to grips with the world in which their brands operate. It uses the right approach and methodology to deliver robust insights, strategic counsel, and targeted recommendations that generate change and positive outcomes.
Opinium was the most accurate research agency in the EU Referendum, 2019 UK General Election, and the 2016 London Mayoral Election.
Media Contact:
John McCartney
Jmac PR for GrowTal
646.280.8573
john@jmacpr.com
