Poll: Have you encountered bias against freelancers (vs. full-time employees)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you encountered bias against freelancers (vs. full-time employees)?".
View the poll results »
| | |
I've been both a full-time employee and a freelancer. I never encountered any bias. | | | The opposite | Jan 20, 2019 |
I think clients appreciate a professional who is in full charge of the work, working directly with the client and able to ensure quality with nothing getting in the way. As a customer in other areas, that is what I tend to look for and feel lucky when I can find it. That is in contrast to large faceless companies where employees don't really have much of a say. | | |
Maybe some degree of professional envy: one of my daughters envied my freedom until she decided to enter the freelancer’s world and realized that it also has a few negatives. Like Muriel, I know well both worlds and at my age I prefer by far being a freelancer… | |
|
|
Ricki Farn Germany Local time: 03:15 English to German Yes, socially | Jan 20, 2019 |
I have been told to my face, in front of an audience, that I am obviously unemployable, which is why I have to be a freelancer. Joke's on them - living well is the best revenge. | | | Maja_K Germany Local time: 03:15 Member (2013) English to Macedonian + ...
Ricki Farn wrote: I have been told to my face, in front of an audience, that I am obviously unemployable, which is why I have to be a freelancer. Joke's on them - living well is the best revenge. Would you explain a bit more about this situation? I mean, it's a harsh thing to say for someone they are "obviously unemployable", why did someone say that to you? | | | Jan Truper Germany Local time: 03:15 Member (2016) English to German
From banks and a car dealership, in regards to credit worthiness... | | |
I find that some companies or agencies try to get away with paying freelancers a lot less than they should be entitled to, justifying their attitude by using excuses such as a freelancer doesn't have to buy gas to get to an office, have an expensive wardrobe, and other similar, untenable points of view. I'm glad I don't work for any of THEM!
[Edited at 2019-01-20 19:25 GMT]
[Edited at 2019-01-20 19:26 GMT]
[Edited at 2019-01-20 19:26 GMT] | |
|
|
Mario Freitas Brazil Local time: 23:15 Member (2014) English to Portuguese + ...
Luckily, my family does not seem to think I'm unemployed because I'm a freelancer. At least they don't mention it. But I've heard too many colleagues complain about that, so I realize it's an actual issue. | | | Ricki Farn Germany Local time: 03:15 English to German
Maja_K wrote: Would you explain a bit more about this situation? I mean, it's a harsh thing to say for someone they are "obviously unemployable", why did someone say that to you? Actually, that was three situations - twice people bragged (in offline group conversations) about having got tenured employment and explicitly pointed out that I had not achieved that feat. I am pretty sure they were both (separately and in different university departments) butthurt because my grades had been better than theirs. Especially as it's no secret that I have never applied for any sort of tenured job in my life. And once I approached a social worker I knew privately, telling him that certain neighbours were neglecting their children due to their (the parents') alcoholism and asking how I could get help for the children. The social worker replied that as a freelancer, I was obviously unemployable and therefore not in any position to criticise those neighbours, and he made sure to repeat the entire conversation to a large group of people online later. I wasn't actually attempting to criticise my neighbours, I don't care about how people spend their lives, I was trying to make sure that some small humans got adequate food and clothes. Which I have since achieved, because I happen to have a job that equips me for researching information^^ What I have learned is that if people want to lash out at you, they will use anything they know about you and use it as they please. If I wasn't a freelancer, they would find something else. So does that even count as a bias against freelancers? But talking of an actual bias against freelancers, I have found that if I tell a doctor I don't need a sick note because I'm a freelancer, the amount of diligence and resourcefulness they invest in treating me instantly drops to nearly zero. Somehow the idea of a third-party employer who wants their employee back, seems to be far more important than the well-being of a self-employed person. | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Have you encountered bias against freelancers (vs. full-time employees)? TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |