Make the Season Bright: How Independent Workers Can Beat Holiday Loneliness
The holiday season is upon us!
Twinkling lights and festive gatherings begin. But, for independent workers—freelancers, contractors, and consultants—this time of year can feel a bit lonely. While being self-employed has plenty of perks, without a traditional workplace to call home, you may find yourself on the outside of the workplace festivities and this can be isolating. However, with a little creativity and effort, you can flip the script and make this season a vibrant and joyful time, building connections and creating your own traditions.
Why can the holiday season feel lonely for independent workers?
For starters, you may not receive an invitation to workplace parties. This doesn’t mean your clients or the teams you work with don’t like you. It just means they’re keeping it simple and centered on their traditional workers. However, without a holiday party to attend, you may miss out on the camaraderie and celebratory buzz that comes with being part of an office team. This can make you feel a bit left out and you may find yourself pining for the days when you had a regular job and were part of company traditions.
Next, holiday parties signal the end-of-year slowdown. At this time of year, projects may wind down, emails slow to a trickle, and clients go quiet as they head off for their own celebrations. This lull can potentially leave you feeling unmoored, especially if you thrive on a busy schedule. Additionally, the year end slow down can also impact your budget which can be tough as you watch your family, friends or clients go on a year-end vacation.
Finally, networking looks much different. The holidays are a great time for traditional workers to naturally network and build relationships. They connect easily with their colleagues through office parties, trays of holiday goodies in the lunchroom, and conversations about new year plans by the coffee station. On the other hand, freelancers, contractors and consultants must actively seek out their own social opportunities during the holidays to keep their networks going. This can feel less celebratory and more like a chore for independent workers.
So, how can freelancers, contractors and consultants thrive during the holiday season?
Consider hosting your own gathering. Who says you need a workplace to have a holiday party? If you are extraverted, host a get-together for your network of fellow independent workers, clients, or friends. Whether it’s a potluck dinner, a virtual coffee chat, or a festive happy hour, creating your own event gives you something to look forward to and strengthens your connections.
Connect with independent workers in your co-working space. Many co-working spaces host holiday-themed events or provide a space buzzing with activity. You’ll meet other independent workers, enjoy some holiday cheer, and feel part of a community.
Think about volunteering your time. One of the best ways to combat loneliness is to give back. You could volunteer at a local food bank, animal shelter or lend a hand at a toy drive. Not only will you make a difference, but you may also meet like-minded people who share your generous spirit and this can widen your social or professional circle.
Consider creating your own traditions. Make the season special by starting a tradition just for you. This could be a decadent holiday coffee from your local coffee shop, a cozy movie night out with a friend, or a networking lunch at a local café. It’s always a good idea to embrace the freedom and flexibility that independent work offers and celebrate the end of the year in your own unique way.
Reflect and plan for the year ahead. Downtime during the holidays can be a gift for an independent worker. You can use this time to reflect on your yearly accomplishments, update your LinkedIn account, make plans for the coming year, and dream big about your next steps. You could pair your business planning with a Chestnut Praline latte (yes, this is a real drink), or a holiday playlist to make the process enjoyable.
Why does taking the reigns on the holiday season matter, you ask?
As independent workers, we have the flexibility to shape our work lives and cultivate connections that are meaningful to us. By taking the reigns with purpose and intention, we can find joy not just in the holidays themselves, but in the creativity it takes to make them special. So, deck the halls, reach out to your community, and let your festive entrepreneurial spirit shine. After all, independent workers know better than anyone how to be resilient and resourceful, and make something extraordinary out of the ordinary.
Here’s to a holiday season filled with joy, connection, and entrepreneurial sparkkle!
Happy Holidays!
This is Why Contracting is a Great Idea
Why is contract work a great career strategy? Job seekers often think they have to find a full-time, permanent position and they overlook the opportunities that come with short-term contracts. In this blog article, I share the value I see in short-term contracts. Whether they are employee contracts or independent contracts, I have found high value in my career doing contract work from the beginning of my career to mid-career while raising a family and now moving into the later stages of my career. Contract work has given me the opportunity to share my skills and knowledge and support companies as they grow.
I’ve been an independent worker (contractor, consultant and freelancer) for several years, and I can tell you with certainty, contract work can be highly rewarding. Over the years, I’ve been given the opportunity to help more organizations and add value to their business by coming in on contract. It has been a great strategy during transition periods, and it has created better flexibility and balance in my work life.
Contract work grows in tough economic times when employers are uncertain about the economy. Labour market reports from the U.S., Japan and Canada, all show spikes in part-time and contract work after major recessions. Given these trends, we can most likely expect to see short-term employee contracts plus a growth in the demand for independent workers as we move into the future.
Whether we are graduating from post-secondary, are mid-career or are highly experienced individuals, during tough economic times, employers are tentative about making permanent promises. Job seekers must then adjust their expectations so we can connect with the expectations of employers and the opportunities they have.
Here are some of reasons why taking a contract is a great idea.
Get Our Foot in the Door
When I first graduated from university with a teaching degree, there was very little full-time permanent positions available for the hundreds of graduates. In order to get our foot in the door, we had to take a short-term contract. Typically, the contracts were anywhere from 4 months to one year. The benefit of contract work is that the company gets to test drive us and we get to test drive them. It’s kind of like dating and finding out whether or not you are a good fit for one another. If it’s a good match and the company needs more help down the road, contractors who are independent workers can be called back in on a regular basis so it’s possible to create a continued stream of income.
Build Experience and References
If we are a new graduate or we are entering a new occupation, new industry or even a new field within an industry, taking a short contract is an excellent way to share our talents, build some experience and get a reference to add to our resume. Job seekers are often very focused on the long game of getting a permanent, full-time position and I always have to remind them that the people in those positions are may have taken a short contract and landed that permanent role because they got experience with the organization, had a reference from inside the building or from within the industry.
Learn Different Processes and Systems
Contracting to different companies also gives us the opportunity to see how things are done differently from one company to the next. This can be highly advantageous in terms of really understanding the industry, how it functions, and how each company has a place within the economy of the industry. It starts to give us a bigger, broader picture which is extremely helpful in terms of giving us perspective on the challenges and the gaps in service. This makes for great opportunity in the future to help out by becoming a consultant, or to solve problems or fill in gaps by starting our own business.
Opportunity to Collaborate with Different People
This past year, I had three contracts and I LOVED all of them because the people were so great to work with. I really like working with others and if I can get a contract that allows me the opportunity to collaborate, it’s even better. What I especially liked about these contracts was that they were all very different and the way in which we worked together was very different in each contract. This builds collaboration skills in us that we may not otherwise use in one job with one organization. In addition, having the opportunity to work with people from other disciplines helps us grow and build rich knowledge transfer opportunities that we may not get in one job.
Opportunity to Build our Network
We have to KNOW someone to get a job. It doesn’t matter if we apply online or we have a warm lead for a job. In order to get work, we have to know someone, talk to someone and build a relationship either through meeting in a formal interview or in a networking situation. When we take a short-term contract, we have the opportunity to meet people. Contract work helps us build our network because we have the opportunity to use our talents, experience and skills to help a company, work with others and build relationships. We have the opportunity to get inside the building and add value to a business.
Provides a Broader Perspective of the Industry
Contracting to different companies also gives us the opportunity to see how things are done differently from one company to the next. Depending on our industry, we may be able to hold multiple contracts simultaneously. In other cases, it may not be possible to have multiple contracts with competing companies in the same industry. However, depending on our goals for taking a contract, it gives us the opportunity to understand how things are done. This can be highly advantageous in terms of really understanding the industry, how it functions, and how each company has a place within the economy of the industry. It starts to give us a bigger picture and a broader perspective on the challenges and the gaps in service. This makes for great opportunity in the future to become a consultant rather than an independent contractor, and it can also lead to some independent contractors taking the leap into becoming entrepreneurs and hiring people to help fill in gaps or solve problems in their industry.
Contract work can be more flexible
Flexibility has been highly important to me and my family over the last 10 years. I have found that contract work has created the work/life balance that many people dream about but have a hard time creating with a permanent, full-time position. In my design contracts, I have been able to work from home or a co-working space. With my facilitation contracts, I’ve been able to organize my facilitation days around challenging family schedules. As a result, we have rarely needed childcare which has not only saved us thousands of dollars over the years, but it has allowed me to do what I love - be present for my family. I’ve also been able to set my hours with some of my onsite workplace training contracts. This flexibility has been AMAZING, has created balance for us and has given me the opportunity to grow my career by continuing to help organizations but keep the balance that I’ve wanted.
