Freelancers Are People Too But Different Kinds of People

Jason Gorman again inspires me to write, in response to his post Freelancers Are People Toomebeli. He says that most people who write code for a living are freelancers. That’s an interesting statistic, and if it’s true, I would be curious to see a source for it.

What really got me thinking was his story about a survey that one of his clients made of its employees. Freelancers were not included in the survey, and Jason claims that this was a mistake. I don’t know what the survey was about, but Jason makes a reasonable argument that freelancers have opinions that could be valuable to their clients. I’ve seen cases myself where organizations sought feedback from employees but not contractors.

But between the lines, Jason seems to be saying that he doesn’t like being treated like a second-class citizen. I don’t really share this concern. I never forget that I am a service provider for the organizations I’m working for. In fact, in the US the IRS demands that I not act too much like an employee, lest they judge that I actually am an employee and make the client pay additional taxes. There are many things going on between employee and employer that I’m not a part of, and I’m thankful to not be involved in some of them.

A contractor relationship is subtly but qualitatively different from an employee relationship. I want my clients to be successful, but I’m also concerned with making my own business successful. There’s a clear and contractually-defined line between them and me. I still get to feel the thrill of victory when a project is successful, and layered on top of that is the thrill of success in my business and the improved market perception of my services. I also know my engagement with them could vanish in the blink of a budget shortfall.

Another factor that Jason may have in mind is contractor retention. Employers take steps to encourage their employees to keep working for them, but don’t put as much effort into keeping their contractors happy. Given the prevalence of contract labor in the software industry, an investment in “contractor retention” may be worthwhile. In Jason’s case, the client he was frustrated with may have been risking an early departure from him.

http://tejasconsulting.com/blog/?p=130

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Freelancers Are People Too But Different Kinds of People