From Forbes, Jon Younger collects comments from industry leaders on the status of the freelance workforce. Jon writes:
Once again, I’ve solicited the comments of leaders of the freelance revolution around the globe, and received their current reports from many. I asked each to give readers their best intelligence on the short and longer term intentions of clients—whether startup, small business, or large corporate—to utilize freelancers and independent management consultants in the “coronavirus economy.” Here’s an overview of the big messages:
- Freelancer and consultant utilization is generally up, largely for those working remotely—completing essential projects, augmenting critical skills, and transitioning companies to a remote workforce
- Over the medium term, expectations for freelance business is more somber; many platform CEO’s fear a drop in demand as clients eliminate or reduce discretionary project spending to weather the recession. However, they do not generally believe it will be long lasting
- Overall, belief in the long term future for freelancers and independent management consultants is bright. It’s just getting through the storm that’s top of mind for these CEO’s
Read on to learn what leaders of the freelance revolution had to say in the last couple of days:
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Bryan Peña, MBOPartners Head of Market Strategy: “We are seeing a lot of uncertainty, but not many clients making immediate reductions in the near term and have seen no appreciable reduction in demand. In fact some have identified unique needs that may increase usage of independent resources in healthcare and business turnaround. In downward business cycles, companies rethink the way they get things done. The forced migration to remote work brought about by COVID-19 will advance the openness of companies to leverage the independent workforce. For the long term we see an increased role for freelance or independent management consulting.”
Read the full story at 21 Gig Economy Leaders Share How The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Impacting The Freelance Workforce
