4 Benefits of Being an Employee vs. an Independent Contractor

You’ve probably read it in blogs or heard it from people in your life: It’s great to work for yourself or be a freelancer. You don’t have to get up at 6 o’clock every morning to get ready for work; you set your own hours; and you make as much money as you want.

It may sound like the ideal life, but they forget to tell you about its downsides. You might not get up at 6 o’clock, but you might have to work 12 hours a day to earn barely enough income to survive. Some freelancers are successful, but that doesn’t mean the lifestyle is right for everyone. In fact, I’d argue that a vast majority of people are better suited to being full-time employees.

If you’ve been a freelancer, you might not realize that full-time employment comes with a lot of perks. Here are a few of the benefits of being a full-time employee vs. an independent contractor.

1. You Get a Steady Paycheck

When you work as a full-time employee, you receive a regular paycheck. You know your paycheck will be in your bank account on a certain day. This stability makes it much easier to plan your finances than it would if you were self-employed. As a freelancer, you have to land multiple gigs, bill your clients, and follow up on outstanding invoices. Even then, you might not get paid on a regular basis.

2. You Can Leave Work at Work

One of the best parts of some full-time jobs is the ability to leave work at work.

Yes, some jobs require you to be on call or ready to respond to an email at a moment’s notice. However, you still get to leave your job behind to some degree.

When you freelance, your workplace is often your home. You may have a home office, but even so, if you work from home, the line between your work life and home life is blurred. At least as a full-time employee, there’s a good chance that once you leave work, you don’t have to think about it until you head in the next morning.

3. The Benefits Are Amazing

Freelancers don’t get benefits, but most full-timers get a plethora of them. Many employers offer subsidized health care, dental care, vision care, life and disability insurance, and even health savings accounts. It might not dawn on you just how amazing these benefits are until you realize how much they’d cost if your employer didn’t pay a portion of the premiums.

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Plus, your employer matches your Social Security and Medicare tax, a 7.65 percent savings. Meanwhile, freelancers have to pay both the employee and employer portions.

Finally, most full-time employees get at least two weeks of vacation a year, plus multiple paid holidays — days when they get to do whatever they want and not think about work. If freelancers take time off, they don’t get paid at all.

4. You Have a Support Network

As a full-time employee, you most likely work with people who will help you when times on the job get tough. Whether you’re having trouble with a difficult project that you don’t understand or you simply can’t motivate yourself to complete a task, you probably know a coworker who can help you accomplish what you need to do.

Even if you simply feel down in the dumps, you can chat with that coworker who always brightens your day. As a freelancer working remotely, you often don’t have those options. You could be at home with only your dog. And let’s be honest, your pup isn't going to help you solve that complex problem or tell you a joke to cheer you up.

The Bottom Line on the Benefits of Being an Employee

Working a full-time job offers the stability that many people crave in life. It gives you a routine that you can follow every business day and a paycheck that you know will arrive in your bank account on a regular basis.

While you can get laid off or fired and companies do go under, if you make smart decisions about where you work and whom you work with, being a full-time employee can actually be a lot better than most people make it out to be. It’s all about perspective.

Ready to take the plunge and get into the job market? Sites like Monster and Jobscan can help you put your best foot forward by optimizing your résumé and LinkedIn profile. This helps you ensure that you pass through the online screening filters and don't miss out on that dream job.

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