Looking to make some extra money, a majority of residents in the UAE and the Mena region at large want to freelance, according to a new poll released by Bayt.com, a popular jobs portal in the region.
The portal’s ‘State of the Freelance Market in the Mena Region’ poll shows that freelancing is considered by 75.2 per cent of respondents to be a good option for someone working in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, with perceived better pay and a better work-life balance than working full-time.
Seven out of 10 (69.2 per cent) respondents would consider working on an independent or freelance basis instead of being a full-time employee, with their main motive for doing so being to achieve a better work-life balance (30.5 per cent).
Other top reasons professionals would consider a freelance career are to be able to focus more on the things they love (23.5 per cent); better pay (18.3 per cent), and more control over their career path (11.8 per cent).
Freelancers are considered, by more than half the respondents (54.9 per cent), to earn more than full-time professionals.
The main reason for most full-time employees taking on freelance work is so that they can earn more money, according to 63.9 per cent of professionals polled, or to explore other career opportunities (14.7 per cent).
Yet, it seems professionals are put off from embarking upon a freelance career because they don’t know where to start (31.1 per cent), though visa issues are also a major concern for 15.6 per cent, and 14.6 per cent are concerned by a lack of opportunities.
“There is clearly a strong interest in freelancing in the region; however, the majority of people do not know where to begin. This suggests that more needs to be done to educate professionals in the Middle East on their options. After all, promoting entrepreneurship in this form is essential to addressing youth unemployment and boosting the Mena countries’ GDPs,” said Suhail Masri, VP Sales, Bayt.com.
A good percentage of respondents to the Bayt.com Mena HR poll (44.2 per cent) know at least five or more professionals who freelance, while students and fresh graduates are considered to be the most likely to freelance by 50.2 per cent.
Professionals with 5-10 years of experience are also thought to be likely to freelance by a fifth of respondents (21.6 per cent).
The skills a professional has will determine whether they have the potential to be a freelancer, as stated by 48.1 per cent of respondents – though three in 10 (27.2 per cent) also claim that ‘anyone’ can go independent.
Flexibility and adaptability are the top traits a freelancer should have (according to 27.6 per cent), followed by great self-confidence (16.3 per cent), the ability to multi-task (15.5 per cent), and good time management skills (14.5 per cent).
Half of the respondents’ companies (53 per cent) outsource work to freelancers, because it is considered to be cheaper than hiring an employee (30.4 per cent).
Freelancers are also seen as being a good contingency plan between hires (28.4 per cent), while a quarter of respondents (24.8 per cent) believe that they are more skilled and efficient.
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