Ride-hail driver: Freelance 'allows my schedule to come first'

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84% of full-time freelancers say their work lets them live the lifestyle they want, compared to 63% of full-time traditional workers. | Pixabay/Jackson David

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Sponsored Content — Driving for Uber is a convenient option for workers that need the ability to set their own schedules around their personal lives and responsibilities and to be able to work as necessary.

A "Freelancing in America: 2019" survey of 6,000 U.S. workers found that 79% of full-time and 76% of part-time freelance workers reported that having a flexible schedule and being able to choose their work days and hours was a primary reason for their decision to join the freelance workforce.

"I’m a single dad with three kids at home and they all have special needs," Jon Montgomery, an Uber driver in Seattle, said about working as a driver. "I can’t be too far from home or too long from being able to go home when the need arises. I also need to transport them to and from three different schools. The only way I can work and make money to pay the bills right now is to work when I can and be present as their dad as much as possible."

An Edison Research report conducted in December 2018, The Gig Economy, surveyed 1,044 gig workers and found that for 44% of gig workers, income from their freelance job was their primary source of income, and that for 53% of gig workers between the ages of 18-34, gig work was their primary source of income. The report also found that gig employees are more likely to be young, with 38% of 18- 34-year-olds being part of the gig economy.

"[Uber] allows my schedule to come first as the gig is always available," Alex Nachman, an Uber driver from Seattle, said. 

Forbes reports that 84% of full-time freelancers say their work lets them live the lifestyle they want, compared to 63% of full-time traditional workers. Another 42% said they would not be able to work a traditional job due to life circumstances. According to the report, workers are spending more time freelancing, with the average weekly hours increasing to more than 1 billion hours per week freelancing as of Oct. 2018, compared to 998 million hours in 2015.

"Freelancing provides opportunities to those who might not otherwise be able to work," Stephane Kasriel. CEO of Upwork said, according to Forbes. "It gives them the flexibility they need."

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