Three Reasons Why Self Employment is on The Rise

Many people dream of going self employed and in recent years more and more have been turning that dream into a reality. There are many benefits to self employment, not least of which is being your own boss, and as running a business from home has become more and more practical, the numbers of self employed people are only going up.

But what’s the big push that’s leading self employment trends? And should you consider going self-employed?

Workplace Dissatisfaction

It’s no secret that many people are dissatisfied with their jobs. In fact it’s a large part of the problem Career Navig8r seeks to solve – helping to connect people with jobs that matter to them.

But it’s not just misalignment that’s made it harder and harder for people to feel satisfied in their work. From laws failing to keep up with technological innovations to the increasingly unstable state of the global economy many industries have seen mass layoffs in the last year or two while skills that were once seen as valuable are now practically earning less and less year on year.

The end result of all this is that many employees simply don’t feel valued by the companies they work for and this fact will always be true in larger companies. What many people really want is a workplace where they feel that their personal contribution is seen and valued.

More Opportunities Than Ever Before

The 2010s and 2020s have been a real boom time for small and self-employed businesses – at least, those that could fully utilise the power of online platforms and social media. Online platforms have, in many cases, solved the problems of both distribution and marketing.

Distribution and marketing used to be the twin barriers that made the idea of going self employed an impossible pipe dream to many. Advertising your product is expensive while shipping it is even more so. And that’s not even mentioning how time consuming both can be.

In 2025, advertising your product may still be time consuming but it can be done at a very low cost and all from behind your own desk. Many products that once required shipping can now be distributed digitally while even physical items are easier to transport due to the higher demand.

These days anyone can set up their own online shop front, freeing them up to work on their product. In many respects there has never been a better time to be a small company so long as you know how and where to find your loyal market.

The Benefits of Self Employment

Up until now we’ve talked about the various trends driving people out of traditional employment as well as the lower bar for entry that the online world has brought about, but now we’d like to talk specifically about the experience of self employed people.

There are many benefits to self employment, not least of which is that you have full control over how, when, and where you work. For many people, this is a big deal helping them to gain a genuine sense of control over what can be a very chaotic worklife.

There’s an instinct many people have to assume that routines are inherently good for you and while they certainly do have their benefits, there are times when a strict routine can become a drain. Routines can make you static, inflexible, and can suck the variety out of life. If you’re the kind of person who dreads getting up and going to work even though you love your job, this could be the reason. You’re just not someone who’s a good fit for that kind of fixed schedule.

It’s not just about personal preference either. For some lifestyles—especially for people who have parent/carer obligations—consistent hours can be somewhere between difficult and impossible to maintain. Self employment frees you up to fit your work around your other commitments meaning that many people who simply couldn’t hold down a full time job are now empowered to make the most of their hours.

And it goes beyond just time. As a self employed person there are always risks, yes, but there’s something freeing about being responsible and accountable for your own decisions. You get to call the shots and, while that means the buck will ultimately stop with you, it also means you’ll never get blamed for someone else’s mistakes.

Put simply, if a person finds that the structure of traditional employment takes all the fun out of work or that a traditional job is unsustainable for them, then they’re bound to turn to self employment.