Do you think you would be better working independently?

[DanPaladin]

Like selling stuff online, working with food delivery or Uber, doing freelance jobs (writing, editing, data entry...).

I think I would enjoy a lot more this kind of work that I can decide what to do without the stress of a normal workplace environment.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I think being delf-employed or freelance is better... though not without problems and it does come with some responsibility... you are the boss, so you have to organise and finance everything. It is hard work: you get out of it what you put into in in terms of effort, it can be a big investment in terms of time and money which isn't guaranteed to succeed, so a certain amount of risk is involved.

The advantages are that you are your own boss and can often determine your own work schedule, plus the fact that you can work from home (no need to commute), take breaks whenever you like, etc. No one can fire you, but it is a competitive world and if you don't provide a good service, you won't attract clients.

 

[china autie]

I tried selling stuff independently and it didn't work out. Walking dogs or house sitting cats I could probably do. And the writing thing, yeah.

I work totally alone now so my current job is ideal for me. Most of my past jobs were not.

 

[Pats]

I worked night shift at a large hospital for years, and although I hated it, I didn't realize how independently I worked until I did a 3 month travel nurse job at another hospital. They wanted to dictate to me when to do what and even where I was allowed to go when I clocked out for lunch (which was mandatory) until I finally told them if they wanted me to be in a specific area over my lunch I would not clock out. But then in home health I had even more freedom and went to the office only to pick up paperwork for my patients I would be seeing and drop off the finished paperwork.
So, definitely, from experience, I know the more freedom and control I have, the better I work and happier I am.

 

[Judge]

I KNOW I work better independently. Always have. Always will.

 

[Mr Allen]

When I worked at the PDSA Charity shop from June 2014 to April 2017, I always worked on the till better without supervision, except when they were first training me up of course, but once I got the hang of it I didn't need that highly annoying old guy looking over my shoulder.

 

[Fino]

I like to have a consistent schedule that I'm required to follow, but at a job where I work independently, or mostly independently at least.

 

[Edward764]

I think working with people that do not have any control over you, who have no authority to evaluate you, or who you do not see too often, is the ideal option.
I like being around people some of the time, so a job with no other direct contact would likely get boring.

However, I am very sensitive to what I call a person's "atmosphere".

About 5-10 percent of all the people I have worked fairly closely with over the years have atmospheres that I just don't like, or make me uncomfortable so I can't do well, and unfortunately, I usually didn't encounter most of these atmospheres until I started the job.
I quit two jobs many years ago. One was after one day, and the other after two days. One was my trainer at a restaurant, and the other was my only co-worker at a service store. I just could not deal with their atmospheres and knew I would eventually be fired, so I made the first move.
This is why I like nomadic jobs. if you are with a bad atmosphere, it is only an occasional thing.

 

[tducey]

I prefer it actually. As long as I have direction I like working by myself.

 

[Bronzelincolns]

heck yeah!

 

[Aeolienne]

Yes, I think being delf-employed or freelance is better... though not without problems and it does come with some responsibility... you are the boss, so you have to organise and finance everything. It is hard work: you get out of it what you put into in in terms of effort, it can be a big investment in terms of time and money which isn't guaranteed to succeed, so a certain amount of risk is involved.

The advantages are that you are your own boss and can often determine your own work schedule, plus the fact that you can work from home (no need to commute), take breaks whenever you like, etc. No one can fire you, but it is a competitive world and if you don't provide a good service, you won't attract clients.

Self-employment and working from home are not the same thing (though they may overlap). You can be employed by a company and work from home. OTOH, if you're setting up your own business you may well have to get out of the house a fair bit, for instance to promote your product at trade fairs or negotiate with suppliers. That certainly seems to be the case with the entrepreneurs featured on Give It A Year. Plus some self-employed people choose to work in shared co-working spaces.

Cf the advice on working from home and self-employment at WorkSmart by the Trade Union Congress (TUC)