The year is 1194. Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown, is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight. Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand. He whispers his true identity in De Bracy’s ear: King Richard the Lionheart of England. De Bracy yields. Later, De Bracy offers to let King Richard use his army of “Free Lances,” mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service of whoever paid the most.
Pada tahun 1194. Maurice De Bracy, musuh kerabat diraja Inggeris, terperangkap dalam pertempuran melawan Kesatria Hitam. Tanpa disangka, Kesatria Hitam berjaya menguasai. Dia membisik ke telinga De Bracy, akan identiti sebenarnya: Raja Richard, Bahaduri England. De Bracy mengibar bendera putih. Kemudiannya, De Bracy menawarkan tentera “Free Lances” miliknya, tentera upahan yang bebas menghayunkan senjata mereka untuk tawaran yang tertinggi.
That’s how it plays out in Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, “Ivanhoe.” Scott didn’t coin the term, but it was probably this use that stuck, and evolved to describe someone who works independently of any single company.
Begitulah kisahnya dalam karangan 1819, Sir Walter Scott bertajuk “Ivanhoe.” Istilah itu bukanlah milik Scott, namun penggunaan istilah yang kekal, gelaran mereka yang bebas bekerja tanpa ikatan pada mana-mana syarikat.
That independence seems to make people happy. A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries found that those who freelance by choice— 70% of respondents, by the way— were happier than people in traditional jobs, specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility in terms of where and when they work. In a survey conducted in the US, half of freelancers said there was no amount of money that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.
Kebebasan itu menyenangkan hati ramai. Tinjauan pekerja bebas tahun 2016 dari enam buah negara mendapati 70% daripada mereka yang memilih untuk bekerja bebas- lebih bahagia berbanding mereka yang tidak. lebih-lebih lagi, dari segi kebebasan dan fleksibiliti tentang keberadaan dan waktu kerja mereka. Tinjauan dari Amerika Syarikat, sebahagian pekerja bebas mengatakan tiada nilai wang mampu meyakinkan mereka untuk kembali ke pangkalan tradisional.
At some point in your life— maybe even now— you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you. You'll need a few things to be successful.
Kadangkala kita terfikir - mungkin juga sekarang - apakah kita sesuai untuk “freelance.” Ada padi semua jadi, ada beras semua deras.
First, you'll need a skill that's in demand. This can be as universal as driving a car to as specialized as neurosurgery, and it can be in pretty much any field.
Pertama, kemahiran yang diperlukan ramai. Kemahiran mudah seperti memandu kereta, atau yang khusus seperti pembedahan saraf dan kemahiran dari segala bidang.
The more people who want your skill, and the fewer people who have it, the more you can charge for your services.
Jika ramai yang memerlukan kemahiran anda dan kurang dikuasai, makin tinggilah kadar caj perkhidmatan anda.
Next, you’ll need to transform yourself into an entrepreneur. Before freelancers can do any work, they have to find it. That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts, building a network of satisfied clients, and a whole set of administrative skills like project management, time management, and accounting.
Seterusnya, anda perlu menjadikan diri anda seorang usahawan. “Yang bulat tak datang bergolek, yang pipih tak datang melayang”. Anda harus memasarkan perkhidmatan, berunding kontrak, membina rangkaian pelanggan yang berpuas hati, dan kemahiran tadbir yang lengkap seperti pengendalian projek, pengurusan masa dan perakaunan.
And thirdly, if you can afford it, it's probably a good idea to budget for some benefits for yourself and maybe your family. Freelancers don’t automatically get perks that some salaried jobs offer, like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance, college tuition, or retirement plans. In countries like the US, where the government doesn’t provide healthcare to most people, freelancers are responsible for that, too.
Ketiga, jika mampu sediakan peruntukan untuk beberapa manfaat bagi diri anda, dan juga ahli keluarga. Pekerja bebas tidak mendapat kelebihan mereka yang makan gaji terima, seperti, cuti berbayar atau cuti sakit, insurans kehidupan, yuran kolej atau pelan persaraan. Di negara Amerika Syarikat, dimana kerajaan tidak menyediakan penjagaan kesihatan pekerja bebas memikul tanggungjawab itu.
Freelancing has been around for a long time; but digital freelancing platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Fiverr are pretty new. They say they’ll connect you with clients and take care of some of the entrepreneurial and administrative stuff so you can focus on the work. But there are some hidden costs to consider.
Bekerja bebas telah lama wujud; tetapi platform digital pekerja bebas seperti Uber, Lyft dan Fiverr baru wujud. Katanya, mereka akan hubungkan anda dan klien, menguruskan bahagian pentadbiran dan usahawan agar anda kekal fokus bekerja. Namun ada beberapa perkara perlu diambil kira.
First, your life may not be as flexible as you think. For example, if you're a rideshare driver, you get to choose when to work, but not how: the app recommends what route to take, enforces how you act with the threat of low customer ratings, and sets your rate. Those rates may be so low that you end up working more than if you had a salaried full-time job.
Pertama, mungkin kurang fleksibel seperti yang disangkakan Sebagai contoh, jika anda pemandu kongsi anda boleh memilih waktu bekerja, tetapi bukan caranya: aplikasi akan mengesyorkan jalan mengikat sikap anda dengan ancaman penilaian rendah oleh pelanggan, dan meletakkan kadar anda. Kadang kadar agak rendah dan anda terpaksa bekerja lebih masa daripada kadar masa kerja makan gaji.
Speaking of rates, it can be hard to figure out exactly how much money you’ll make. Earnings vary based on location; platforms might advertise hourly rates that don’t factor in expenses, and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse. One of the largest data sets we have is from Uber. It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers between 2015 and 2017. Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper and found that once you deduct Uber's cut and the cost of business expenses, drivers’ average earnings dropped from about $22 an hour to about $12 an hour. And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.
Berkaitan kadar, agak sukar menentukan jumlah keseluruhan wang yang diperoleh. Pendapatan bergantung pada lokasi; platform mungkin menawarkan kadar per jam, tanpa mengambil kira perbelanjaan, dan data keseluruhan tentang perolehan bersih agak sedikit. Set data terbesar yang wujud adalah dari Uber. Ia mengandungi 740 juta perjalanan dari 1.8 juta pemandu dari tahun 2015 dan 2017. Pengkaji menganalisa figura tersebut dalam kajian 2018 dan mendapati jika anda menolak caj Uber dan perbelanjaan bisnes, purata perolehan pemandu melandai dari $22 per jam ke $12 per jam. Dan faedah pembelian mengurangkan kadar itu.
And there is a lot of variability in working conditions across different gig platforms. For example, the company 99 in Brazil operates a rideshare platform that many people use to deliver packages. Drivers are matched with shippers, and 99 takes a cut. The company’s terms and conditions hold both the shipper and the driver liable for anything that could go wrong— including things like if a package gets stolen.
Terdapat pelbagai kebolehubahan dalam perihal berkerja melalui gig platform yang berbeza. Contohnya, syarikat 99 di Brazil mengendalikan platform kereta kongsi dimana kerap digunakan untuk penghantaran bungkusan. Pemandu dipadankan dengan pengirim dan 99 mengambil sebahagian untung. Terma dan syarat syarikat meletakkan kedua-dua pengirim dan pemandu bertanggungjawab sekiranya berlaku masalah - termasuklah kecurian bungkusan.
If you’re considering joining the app economy and don’t want to read all the fine print, there’s a network of researchers who publish ratings of platforms based on five categories of fair employment.
Jika anda ingin menyertai aplikasi ekonomi dan malas membaca semua syarat, terdapat beberapa pengkaji yang menerbitkan penilaian di platform berdasarkan lima kategori tenaga kerja adil.
Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks and may not provide a reliable living wage. But for many around the world who don’t have the luxury of choice and need to make money as soon as possible, like, say, if you just lost your job, the gig economy is the easiest and fastest place to get hired. For this reason, some have called it an “alternative safety net.”
Gig platform digital mempunyai kekurangan dan mungkin tidak menyediakan gaji munasabah. Akan tetapi tak ramai yang memiliki keistimewaan untuk memilih dan memerlukan wang secepat mungkin, contohnya, mereka yang kehilangan kerja, gig ekonomi tempat yang senang dan mudah untuk mendapat kerja. Oleh itu, sesetengah memanggilnya “jaring keselamatan alternatif.”
So, considering all these factors and many others, should you dip your toes into the gig economy? Or dive in? Ask yourself: how much do you value flexibility or autonomy? Do you prefer to work within an established structure, or to make your own? Are you willing to network to find new clients? Are you organized and self-directed? And perhaps most importantly, how much do you value knowing exactly what you'll earn from week to week?
Setelah semua faktor dan perkara lain diambil kira, patutkah anda cuba berjinak-jinak dengan gig ekonomi? Tanya diri anda sendiri: Fleksibiti atau autonomi yang penting? Anda lebih gemar bekerja dengan sistem sedia ada, atau merangkanya sendiri? Bolehkah anda mencari klien baru? Adakah anda teratur dan terarah diri? Dan yang paling penting seberapa pentingkah untuk anda ketahui pendapatan minggu ke minggu?