Yogeswari Chandran, 42, a public relations and media consultant freelancer, opted out of her nine-to-five job when she had her baby and wanted to spend more time at home.
Freelancing gives her the liberty to work with multiple clients and different organisations which could be for a specific event or up to six-month contract, said Yogeswari.
“As I have the freedom to choose the projects that I want to take on, it enables me to keep on learning.
“It also gives me the benefit of working remotely. I do not have to brave heavy traffic to get to a specific office to work. All I need is my laptop and Internet connection and I am able to communicate with the head project.
So this maximises my time and I am able to do more.
“Earning power is also limitless as long as I can deliver quality work,” she said.
For her, freelancing and working a full-time job are similar in terms of achieving the outlined key performance indicator (KPI).
“At times, I have to be more proactive to achieve the needed results. But it does give me flexibility. If I want to take a month’s vacation, I can do so without asking for permission from management.”
However, freelancing comes with a set of challenges.
According to Yogeswari, there is competition among freelancers to find new clients.
“On top of that, some of our clients delay payments. Sometimes, we don’t get paid at all.
“But there are solutions. As freelancers, we have platforms like Workana which has many project postings to choose from. It also has a secure payment mode in place,” she said.
International Islamic University Malaysia final-year student Shadatul Asra Khalid works as a part-time rider to earn extra money during his spare time.
In a day, he can earn up to RM150 which is more than enough to cover his daily needs.
“Some riders get a steady income of RM350 per day. The pay is lucrative but sometimes I have to deal with difficult customers and ride in heavy traffic.
“Whether it is scorching hot or raining cats and dogs, we have to ensure that the food is delivered to the customers’ doorsteps. It is our responsibility.
“As we spend a lot of time on the road, the risk of being involved in an accident is also high. I feel more can be done to promote safety among riders.
“Our welfare is also not taken care of. For instance, we do not have any EPF savings. Hopefully, stakeholders could arrange something to treat gig workers better,” said Shadatul Asra.
