What is the difference between remote work and freelancing. What is remote work and how is it different from freelancing

Friday, 10 Feb 2012 21:32

With the increase in the number of orders and situations that I have to get into, I begin to feel more and more acutely the moments when, instead of a freelancer, I become a “remote worker”. It would seem that freelancer = remote worker, and this goes beyond the definition. But in practice this is not entirely true. A freelancer conducts his activities for the sake of freedom (the key “free” here is free), and a remote worker (the key slave does not require translation) is more often an employee on a conditional permanent basis with a monthly / hourly rate or project-based payment, which you don’t see in your eyes, but which can be pulled day and night, tk. your collaboration presupposes this and requires it to be constantly available online. It's not entirely clear, so I'll give examples.

When I feel like a freelancer

I received a layout and brief instructions in the mail. Did the job. Dropped her off. Immediately, without departing from the cash register, I finished some moments, got the rest of the attendants, and we said goodbye. Further, there can only be a similar new job with the same scenario, well, or in the worst case, the scenario with the "eternal debtor" () . Ideally, there are no unnecessary moments in such cooperation, such as expectations of something and someone, opinions from the outside, which the customer for some reason wants to take into account after the delivery of the work, some doubts that are a heavy burden on your shoulders. Everything is fast, clear and to the point, from the receipt of the order to the receipt of all attendants, the agreed time passes plus max 1 day. I love this kind of work, it is it that gives me freelancing with pleasure, with a sense of freedom, on the principle of “passed, finished and forgot.”

When I Feel Like a Remote Worker

It all starts the same. But after the project is completed, a long, long series of dragging snot across the floor begins.

Customer: Alexander, our client noticed that instead of the letter “Y” there is the letter “I” in the layout.

We’ve arrived... It turns out that it’s not you who are my client, but your client is my client, and you are, like, the executor of my client... And now we’ll start driving a long, long, damaged phone and changing letters in the html layout. ..

Customer: Alexander, our client asks why such and such blocks do not have a vertical scroll?

I: because these scrolls are not in the layout

Customer: yes, indeed, they forgot to finish drawing. Could you finish it?

I: certainly! Just explain at least in words what they should scroll there

Through time

Customer: our designer completed the layout, sent to you

Still through time

Customer: Alexander, our client says that there will be more edits, so let's postpone it for now and do everything together already.

And so you sit and wait for money for the work that was handed over the day before yesterday, and while a certain client gives birth to ideas for editing the layout on which they initially forgot to finish something, wants to add an entry with ruffles in the contact in the authorization form or suffer some other - something crap. And all this, with obligatory distortion, will then pass through the project manager, art director and that nice woman who is talking directly to me.

And they will also ask for your phone to be in touch "in work time”(and what does a freelancer have? Does anyone know?), and they will ask you to make urgent edits in order to also urgently show them to the client until he takes his seat to an urgent business meeting, which, naturally, imposes some conditional restrictions on your freelance freedom.

In such cases, freelancing ceases to be that freelancing for pleasure, but becomes a remote work ... With a couple of simple differences - you don’t have any rate, and an agreed period passes from the moment you receive an order to receive money plus an indefinite and conditionally limited amount of time by the Wishlist of the end client.

This happens mainly in cooperation with offices where there are 5+ people on the staff, and which average check the project results in a decent amount. When working with such offices, it is quite important not to forget to multiply the standard cost of work by some factor from 1.5 to 2. Ultimately, the office does not care, because. this allowance will fall on the client, and this money will compensate you for the time and nerves for dragging snot across the floor.

In connection with amendments to the legislation, such a category as “remote workers” has officially appeared. At the same time, for some reason, these amendments often began to be called the "law on freelancers." We will discuss in this article why remote employees and freelancers have nothing in common, and how specialists who earn money via the Internet are legally classified in general.

Any of the specialists who receive income through the Internet can be absolutely clearly defined in one of the categories:

• entrepreneurs: freelancers producing work to order; owners of income-generating sites; infobusinessmen; coaches and consultants
• remote employees employed
• individuals– authors who sell the rights to their finished works (for example, on microstocks).

A remote employee essentially remains the same employee as any office employee, with the only difference being that he constantly works via the Internet and is not physically in the office, and the daily routine can be set for him freely, subject to the fulfillment of all duties. Employment history he is filled at his request. In all other respects - the same employment contract, salary, payment of taxes by the employer and payments to social funds, vacation and sick leave. This is of course if everything is formalized. If the remote employee works on the basis of a mere oral agreement, then in general, he will still be considered an employee of this company, in which case, since the relationship is essentially labor. In general, legally, everything will be the same as with an officially unregistered office employee or a worker at a construction site, or a seller in a store.

Freelancers, on the other hand, are not just people who take orders and fulfill them remotely, they are also independently responsible for paying taxes, calculating future pensions, medical insurance, they cannot have official holidays and sick days. The freelancer and the customer resolve official disputes within the framework of arbitration proceedings (arbitration court), in which legal entities also deal with each other. Such activity is considered entrepreneurial, and in theory it is necessary to register an individual entrepreneur or entity. Often, freelancers prefer not to formalize their activities in any way, although this is illegal. In other words, with small amounts of income, it is unlikely that anyone will be interested in them, and thousands of people have been fulfilling orders for years without any deductions to the budget and reporting. Those who combine freelancing with regular work are especially rarely officially registered. labor activity, for example, in the office. Here, of course, everyone decides for himself whether he needs the official status of an entrepreneur or not.

Between an unregistered freelancer and an equally unofficially working remote employee, the difference is not obvious, but the separation can usually be done.
If a person mainly: performs the tasks of only one client, with whom he is bound by an obligation to be at the workplace at a predetermined time or to perform a certain norm of tasks; such cooperation is of a long-term and sustainable nature and takes up all the working time of this person (or the vast majority of it); and such relationships, if they happened offline, could easily be qualified as labor, then this is a remote employee.

If a person: has a number of clients from whom he accepts one-time projects or regular tasks, while not providing him with a constant 100% workload and leaving time for developing a client base and accepting other orders, even if “in line” upon completion of the current project ; his activity can be called entrepreneurial (that is, independent and aimed at systematic obtaining profit from the performance of work or the provision of services), then this is a freelancer.

But illustrators/photographers/copywriters who sell their work on stock sites remain simply individuals who profit from the sale of non-exclusive copyrights, so we can distinguish a third category of Internet workers - "microstockers".

In conclusion, a small summary table clearly shows that a freelancer and a remote employee are completely different categories.

What is remote work, what are the requirements for applicants, where to find it and how much can you earn on it? If you are interested in remote work at home, vacancies from direct employers, which are presented in large numbers on headhunting resources, then below you will find answers to all these questions, as well as what advantages and disadvantages this species employment.

What is remote work in simple words

Distant work- This labor Relations, which involve the performance of work duties by an employee outside the employer's office. These relationships are established through modern means communication and, as a rule, has an advantage for both the employee and the employer.

This type of activity allows you not to visit workplace doing business remotely.

In this case, the organization does not bear the cost of maintaining the employee's workplace, and the employee, in turn, is relieved of the need to visit the office.

Distant work in simple words- this is such work that is carried out by an employee without direct presence at the workplace.

There are a fairly large number of such professions, and classic positions are often taken out of offices: often, according to this scheme, you can work as a support service operator, programmer, copywriter, however, remote work as an accountant or lawyer is no longer surprising.

The main types of remote work:

• Interpreter
• copywriter
• Photographer
• Content manager
• SMM specialist
• Designer
• Audio / Video (voice acting, processing, editing ...)
• Programmer
• Advertising and marketing
• Blogger
• Site administrator
• Consulting, training
• Lawyer

Each type can be divided into dozens of professions, for example, online advertising: these are social networks, website promotion (also divided into social network, internal optimization, external promotion - there are also many ways here ...), contextual advertising, training, and so on.

Who suits

To a greater extent, remote work is attractive for creative freedom-loving individuals who want to work in comfortable conditions and at a convenient time, as well as for people who are prone to introversion and do not want to work with people on a daily basis. For such people, remote work on the Internet will be an ideal option.

• Often, companies in the area in which a person is able to prove himself are many thousands of kilometers away, and there is no opportunity to move - in this case, distancing from the workplace becomes a necessary measure.

Also, work of this kind is suitable for those who prefer to be able to influence their income and career growth, changing the volume and quality of their work at their own discretion, and do not like to sit out time in inactivity.

Requirements for an employee

In this case, the requirements for the employee are usually somewhat different from the classic " office».

Experience remote work is valued less than savvy in the matter and commitment.

The key qualities for such activities are discipline and the ability to manage your time. Remote employees there is no one to urge and stand over the soul, watching that they do not shirk. That is why each employee must also be his own boss - otherwise, the lack of organization and self-discipline will constantly lead to missed deadlines. If a person is not able to master, for example, typing within the allotted time and constantly deviates from the schedule, has a tendency to laziness and procrastination, then it is better for him to give up remote work and work in classic office conditions, where his working time will be controlled from the outside.

How to find a remote job

Employers of remote work and various intermediaries post advertisements for such vacancies on specialized sites.

However, the search for such work through job postings may not always be successful. At the same time, it is necessary to place your resume on the relevant resources, describing in detail the skills and abilities of the applicant, his positive features. If there is experience in a particular industry, it must be indicated.

One of the options to get an idea about future work is cooperation with customers on remote work exchanges, which often develops into permanent employment relationships. If the specialist is experienced enough and has enough projects in his portfolio to demonstrate them, creating a personal website would be an excellent option - this is a more serious level for remote employment, which allows you to gain the trust of employers, as well as daily advertising of your services.

How much can you earn without leaving home

Payment for remote work can be very different, depending on the type of activity, qualifications of the employee, employer, and so on. The simplest job, which does not take much time, is able to bring only a few thousand rubles a month. When working in more serious specialties, as well as being a specialist with a name and a high level, you can receive a salary of 150 thousand rubles.

Among remote workers on the Internet, the average salary per month is $1,500. But you need to understand, these are not beginners and full-time.

There are also professionals in the field whose income can be hundreds of thousands of rubles, but in order to obtain such a status among employers, one must have the ability and prove oneself over a long period of time.

Payment systems may vary depending on the employer and type of activity. There are vacancies with daily payment, calculation upon completion of the project, as well as the classic monthly salary - each person can choose which option is most suitable for him.

The difference between remote work and freelancing

Despite popular belief, remote work and freelancing are not identical concepts. There are a number of differences between them, clearly delimiting these areas of activity:

1. Legal registration. An employee at a remote work is listed in the company's staff and receives an official wages in accordance with the internal regulations of the company. The employer pays for it insurance premiums and deduct income tax. A freelancer, in turn, is usually not registered anywhere, and if he is, it is not under an employment contract. He provides one-time services to the customer and often simply receives payment in cash or on personal card without any deductions from the employer. This is the main difference between remote work and freelancing: a remote worker is an employee of the company, and a freelancer is an invited specialist from outside.
2. Social package. An employee at a remote work, just like any other regular worker has the right to paid vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, etc. social protection by the employer. A freelancer does not have such rights - his work is paid only when it is directly performed. No one compensates him for downtime during the absence of orders or illness.
3. Workload. A remote employee performs the work and to the extent that the employer determines for him. He is bound by the obligation to fulfill plans and maintain a given level of performance indicators. A freelancer, until an agreement is reached on the conditions for fulfilling an order, owes nothing to anyone. He can choose and coordinate with customers only the work and to the extent that he considers necessary.
4. internal order. A remote employee must comply with all company rules, work hours and other guidelines. The freelancer must complete the agreed work on time. How he looks at the same time, communicates, and what time he works is solely his choice, unless otherwise specified in the order.
5. Stability. Remote work is a stable permanent employment, for the termination of which it is necessary to carry out a dismissal procedure, which, in the case of Labor Code RF is not so easy. Such an employee receives a salary regardless of whether the employer has tasks for him or not, if his wage system is not piecework. Freelancing is a one-time job with no guarantees. After the project is completed, the organization may no longer need an outside specialist, and nothing needs to be done to end the relationship with him, since they are usually already limited by the duration of the project. A freelancer can sit without a job and a livelihood long enough, with an unfortunate set of circumstances. There are also frequent cases of fraud in relation to freelancers who are looking for a simple remote job without investment, but in the end their work remains unpaid.

Thus, remote work and freelancing have significant differences. For example, permanent work as an accountant remotely or being on staff as a contact center specialist can be attributed to the first category, and on the content exchange - to the second.

Advantages and disadvantages

Remote work, in addition to not being suitable for every person, has its own objective disadvantages. However, this does not deprive it of a considerable number of advantages.

The main advantages of remote employment are:

• freedom. The opportunity to work in a dressing gown while lying in bed attracts the vast majority of people. In most cases, you can choose your own break time to do your own business or just drink tea.
• No dress code. In this case, there is not only a dress code, but also any requirements for appearance except for video conferencing. Thus, at remote work, you don’t need to run around with a ladle and a dirty head if a meeting is half an hour later, and the water is suddenly turned off at home.
• Opportunity to connect with loved ones. Spending more time at home, you can devote it to your friends and family.
• Increasing autonomy. Remote work disciplines and teaches to cope with problems.
• Opportunity to receive a salary above the average for the region especially in small towns.

However, this type of activity also has significant disadvantages.

• Responsibility. When working remotely, no one will push and check the employee during the working day, but if he breaks the deadlines, he will lose his place.
• Lack of communication. For people who enjoy contact with colleagues, the lack of such when working remotely will be quite painful.

Like any type of employment, remote work has its drawbacks, but for people prone to such conditions, it has much more pluses.

To improve the quality of work, you can use several simple methods, the use of which on a daily basis will make it easier and better to complete tasks.

• Get rid of distractions factors. During work, it is better if the phone and TV are turned off, and the bookshelf and game console are not in sight. Focusing on work is a direct way to improve its quality.
• Incentives. For the completed work rate, you should come up with small pleasant rewards for yourself in order to increase your motivation to work. You can break the daily amount of work into several parts and, after completing each, reward yourself with sweets, relaxation, watching your favorite series, etc.
• Native mode. If working conditions allow, then it is better to forget, like a bad dream, your eight-hour working day with rises at five in the morning - it is better to do work when the body is most productive. Some people with an owl biorhythm even switch to night work sleeping during the day or evening.

Conclusion

Remote work is not suitable for all people, despite all its attractiveness. However, freedom-loving people who are prone to introversion will really be able to appreciate this mode of work at its true worth. Such work implies a certain mindset and a set of skills, without which it will not be possible to work effectively remotely. However, having such skills and following several simple advice will allow many people to find a dream job in this particular type of employment.

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The concept of freelancing is faced by an increasing number of users world wide web, and many are very actively joining the ranks of such freelancers and quite successfully earn money via the Internet. Even during a crisis, such work can bring normal earnings.

Most people who are familiar with the concept of freelancing believe that this is remote work, but it is important to figure out if this is so. If we take the very definition of the term freelance, it turns out that this any remote work via the Internet. Many may agree with this statement, but it is worth looking deeper.

Initially, it was customary to call a freelancer a person who worked for different editorial offices. In the modern world, everything is exactly the same: a Rogue Trader works with different customers. Here keyword"various". That is, having gone deeper, we understand that freelancing is remote work for different clients. However, you can often see records of this kind: I was sent to freelance, that is, they were transferred from the office to home. Given the revised definition, it becomes clear that a person who works in one company, in which he is officially employed, is not a freelancer, but this will be remote work at home. To summarize, it turns out that freelancing and remote work are different concepts that are very different from each other.

Now we can talk about working with one regular customer. Sometimes, after wandering through forums and exchanges, freelancers manage to find a person offering them permanent cooperation. In this case, it is very difficult to tell where remote work begins and freelancing ends. But with long-term cooperation, one does not have to talk about freelancing, as it seems to us. Here we are talking about remote work.

From time to time many office workers the thought of going freelancing flickers.

There are enough motives for this step: it is difficult for one to start his duties at 9 in the morning; others are unhappy that the working day ends too late; the third during the day also need to complete the obligatory part of personal affairs, and someone simply dreams of the absence of observant colleagues behind their backs. But is it really necessary to break all ties with the current place of work and replenish the ranks of free mercenaries? Despite certain similarities, the concepts of "freelancing" and "remote work" are seriously different from each other.

1. Registration in the staff of the company

A specialist working remotely is registered as a company staff - this is the fundamental difference between "remote work" and freelancing. Accordingly, on remote employee all corporate norms apply, an employment contract is concluded with him, where his official duties. At remote worker there may be flexible hours too, but this is not required condition. The employer has the right to regulate the hours when he must be in touch all the time, for example, through mobile phone, Email or skype. If, within the time period specified in the contract, the employee does not contact the employer or clients, then this can be perceived as absence from the workplace and be punished accordingly. A freelancer is most often not put in such a tight time frame, since such clauses are usually not prescribed in the contract. The working hours of a "free" specialist are not regulated - he is limited only by the deadlines finished work or interim reports.

A specialist working remotely is registered as a company staff - this is the fundamental difference between "remote work" and freelancing.

2. Social security

Since an employment contract is concluded with a remote employee, he also receives a certain degree of social protection. The employer is obliged to provide him with paid leave, not to require work on weekends and holidays and also sets a fixed working day and pays sick leave. It is clear that in a number of companies there may be significant deviations from these requirements, but the remote worker still has a document with which he can go to court if he considers that the employer is violating it. labor rights. Vacation and days off for a freelancer - the result personal decision, since its success and financial profit depend entirely on its performance. Often the price for such freedom is the lack of holidays and days off, irregular working hours, the need to work on holidays.

3. Achievement of targets set by the company

A remote employee, in order to maintain a permanent place of work and receive bonuses and bonuses, must fulfill a certain set of planned indicators every month. He has no right to refuse this due to the remoteness of his work. Often, such norms are spelled out in an employment contract or additional agreements to him. If a remote worker fails to meet the targets, they may be fined or fired. A freelancer in this sense has a certain freedom, although for the most part it is an appearance. He sets a certain level of performance indicators for himself. If during, for example, a month he has fewer completed orders or new customers, then he will suffer losses, that is, he will have to answer to himself.

Holidays and days off for a freelancer are the result of a personal decision, since his success and financial profit depend entirely on his performance.

4. The need to comply with corporate standards

Often, freelancers are served by those who do not want to meet too strict corporate standards. Most often, these are representatives of creative professions who need a sufficient degree of freedom to work effectively. The absence of a dress code, mandatory speech stamps on behalf of the company in a conversation with a client, the ability not to participate in the inevitable corporate trainings and team building - all these are undoubted bonuses that any freelancer can boast of. A remote employee, at least in part, must comply with and comply with corporate norms and prohibitions, adjust his opinion in accordance with the policy of the company in which he is a full-time employee. Although the observance of professional "guild" standards is still mandatory for both one and the other.

5. Lack of free choice of tasks

Any freelancer, upon reaching a certain "hype" of his name, can choose the most interesting orders for him and refuse unattractive projects. Of course, this requires a certain time, during which the beginner has to grab onto all the offers, but the result is worth it. An employee transferred to remote work does not have such a choice. Even if he is a representative creative profession, and an uninteresting task comes from the employer, the remote worker must complete it - this is part of the duties fixed in the employment contract. His "free" colleague can easily refuse, while not feeling bound by any obligations.

6. Availability permanent job

The undoubted bonus of a remote employee, unlike a freelancer, is the guaranteed amount of permanent work. Yes, as a result, a freelancer also comes to regular customers on whom he can count, but this is a matter of time and skill. A remote worker can accurately calculate his expenses, because he knows how much work he needs to do every month and how it will be expressed in salary equivalent. The initial instability in the volume of orders and income levels is what most often stops people from completely switching to freelancing. In addition, a remote specialist, subject to the conditions employment contract has the right to expect that the company will continue relations with him during the entire period of validity of the document. In the case of a freelancer, the customer at any time can find a more profitable performer for him.

7. Work on a portfolio or resume

Many freelancers are justifiably proud of their portfolio, where every item is a testament to their professionalism. A freelancer first of all promotes his own name, promotes himself as a brand. If he draws up a contract with the customer, he can subsequently use it as confirmation of his authorship in a particular work. The freelancer is interested in cooperation with famous companies, as it promotes itself as a specialist at the expense of famous brands. As for the remote worker, he works for his company. His professionalism can be reflected in the summary, within the framework of activities in a particular organization. In addition, a situation often arises when the creative works of a remote employee are not his property, since under the terms of the contract with the company they are considered products created as part of a job assignment. Although often such agreements are concluded with freelancers.