Working for yourself or others: Part II

A couple of weeks ago when this topic was introduced, we looked at one factor you need to consider when deciding to stay employed or working for yourself. We mentioned the need to ask yourself whether you derive more happiness and satisfaction by staying in the office for specific number of hours or you are one such person who works best under targets with flexible hours of work.

If you belong to the latter, then perhaps having your own business would be the best option, opportunities permitting.

However, there a couple more factors you need to consider.

You will need to consider the amount of money you make. This depends on the job, but there seems to be a misconception among many people that self-employed people get paid less in many cases. But you can’t really generalise. It all depends on what kind of work you are doing. In many cases, people are surprised to find out that they can earn quite a lot by pursuing something they are passionate about and then building a business around it.

Third, when you work for someone else, the responsibilities you have depend on the role or position you fill. Those responsibilities are pretty set and well defined though and depending on your job title, you may or may not have much leeway to fully utilise your potentials. When you work for yourself, however, it all changes. You are responsible for everything and everyone you employ. You have a lot of room to experiment and get the best of yourself, bearing the consequences fully. Some people see this as an exciting challenge, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

One thing is certain though. If you work for yourself, you won’t feel nagged or controlled by your boss any more. But being the one pulling the strings will mean that you’ll have to find the self motivation to manage your business and to see it through.

Worth considering also is the job fulfilment. Generally, working for yourself tends to be a much more fulfilling and emotionally rewarding activity, but if you happen to be in the right career, you could very well enjoy pretty high job satisfaction as well. In my case, when I was running my own consulting firm, I loved working with various players in the economy and the exposure to high-level authorities this brought. On the other hand, being in the UN today brings me inherent fulfilment of being an international civil servant who contributes to making the globe one peaceful and economically vibrant entity for all.

I have observed that some people were never meant to work for someone else. By contrast, other people are simply not cut out for self employment and would crash and burn the minute they tried it. Sometimes, it takes some experimentation to figure out the best kind of path for yourself.

Here’s a key question to ask yourself: If you’ve had the chance to work in both worlds, which path have you decided to stick with, and why? I have seen too many people prospering self-employed and compared to the few who do while employed by others. Ultimately, however, have an open mind—it is prosperity and happiness that matters in this world. Perhaps for you, this could be achieved through being employed by others or self-employed—you are the best judge of your own.