Freelancing impact on Social& cultural Differences in International

Business

Social networking is transforming many aspects of society and the labor force is no exception.
Most people know about prospective or current employers checking their social feeds for
“negative” behavior, but there is a more important impact of social networks occurring in the
fastest growing segment of the labor force: the freelance economy.  As businesses continue to
look to freelancers to build an on-demand workforce, social networking will play an important
role in three key ways-- building incentive alignment for a more productive work arrangement,
encouraging the increase in human capital for freelancers, and further driving the growth of
the freelance economy. These trends will only gather speed over the coming years as
freelancers continue to redefine how work gets done.
More Productive Work
One of the many benefits of the social graph involves the inherent trust from having
connections in common.  When this trust is transported over to the labor market, it builds an
incentive alignment that buyers and sellers of labor are mutually interested in reaching the
best possible result--a job well done.  In the freelance economy, where work can be short term
and assignments given by anonymous online profiles, the added opportunity to build trust
through mutual connections can be particularly important in making sure that a freelance
assignment receives the same care and attention as more permanent opportunities.
Increase in Human Capital
Because of the growth in online staffing, more and more freelancers are finding their work
online.  That means it’s particularly important for freelancers to invest in their human capital.
In order to stand out from the competition, freelancers will be more incentivized to invest in
their own professional development, whether that be in the form of ongoing education,
licenses, or certifications. This is not unlike people who are searching for full time jobs and
want to differentiate their skill sets. In the full time labor force that occurs every few years at
most. However, in the freelance economy the maintenance of your human capital is an almost
daily occurrence, including soliciting and receiving ratings and reviews for your work.  This
level of transparency is a cornerstone of the freelance economy and will drive behavior in a
very powerful way, shaping the relationships between buyers and sellers of labor.
Working independently is a relatively new concept in our labor economy.  As we can expect
the independent workforce to multiply in years to come (projected to hit 70 million by 2020) I
believe social media will in part be responsible for this growth.  As people work independently
and have positive experiences, they will share that news with others-- many of whom will
likely be encouraged to follow suit.  They will also have a venue to share which companies
offer the best assignments, and at what rates.  This level of transparency and near perfect
information will bring such a high level of efficiently to the freelance marketplace that even
the most traditional of companies will have no choice but to embrace an on-demand
workforce. Social media is but one of several technology trends that I believe will be
responsible for shaping the freelance economy (mobile usage and data analytics are among
the others). Nevertheless, the impact from social media on the freelance economy is clear--
and something we should expect to continue.

The freelance work culture could actually put women at a further disadvantage:
Sexism in the workplace
In many ways, the result of their experiment should not come as a surprise. Sexism in the
workplace is well documented in surveys and in academic literature. Recent reports of overt
harassment in the private and public sectors confirm that it is alive and well. Further, the data
show persistent gender gaps in pay, hiring and promotions across occupations and skill levels.
My own research looks at how the burgeoning gig economy – in which jobs are short-term or
freelance rather than permanent – affects gender and other forms of labour discrimination. A
study we recently conducted with colleagues at the Center for Distributive, Labor and Social
Studies in Argentina suggests an increasingly freelance workforce may make the problem of
male privilege even worse.
For decades, social scientists have tried to disentangle differences in ability, career
preferences, attitudes towards risk and negotiation and other worker characteristics from true
discrimination by employers. However, as economic transactions increasingly migrate to peer-
to-peer platforms, this perspective misses an important piece of the discrimination puzzle:
that of the interactions between gender of the employer and gender of the job seeker.
Each invitation came from the same employer, a fictitious marketing services agency. Half of
the freelancers (randomly selected) received the email from “Maria,” while the rest learned
about the job opportunity from “José.” In addition, half of the invitations asked freelancers to
name their price for the job, while the other half offered a flat pay of €250 ($301).

Male privilege at work

The results confirmed our intuition: male privilege not only hurts women when they’re looking
for work, it also puts them at a disadvantage when they’re the ones doing the hiring. In our
study, José was able to solicit significantly lower rates from prospective job candidates than
Maria, even though the work was identical. Candidates offered to do the job for an average of
€124 when José sent the invitation, while they demanded €158 from Maria (or about 27%
more for the same exact job).When we control for differences in the characteristics of the job
seekers, such as experience and reputation on the site, the female employer penalty remains
essentially unchanged. More interestingly, this result obtained for both male and female job
seekers.
Were women less willing to negotiate with José or Maria? Not in our study. In fact we found
no statistically significant differences in negotiation preferences across our four employer
gender-freelancer gender combinations. Female freelancers were just as likely as men to
respond to our email when it invited them to name their price, and it made no difference
whether the email came from Maria or José.
In other words, as long as the rules of the game are clearly laid out (that freelancers should
name their price), female job applicants were willing to bargain as much as male applicants,
and the gender of the other party (the employer) did not seem to affect this result. Almost a
quarter of Americans said they earned money from the gig economy in 2016.

Rise of the gig economy

An increasing number of people make a living in the gig economy. In a 2016 poll, 24% of
Americans reported earning money from gig economy platforms, and the majority said that
this income is important or essential to make ends meet. In this context, what are the
implications of our findings?
Some claim the rise of “alternative work” arrangements could offer opportunities for women
to close the remaining labour market gaps. Our results suggest a more uncertain future. On
the one hand, they indicate that women may gain from workplace environments in which the
rules of bargaining are unambiguous, as studies show that men often have the upper hand
when the rules are less clear.
On the other, our results suggest that the gig economy could potentially exacerbate gender
discrimination. In the hyper-competitive, fast-paced world of online labour, hiring and wages
are determined on the basis of little verifiable information about each individual worker. These
conditions favour the activation of stereotypes about “appropriate” jobs for women, their
productivity and their willingness to bargain. Further, as traditional worker-employer relations
are replaced by peer-to-peer transactions on a global scale, the application of anti-
discrimination labour law becomes challenging.
As we look at the impact of technology on the future of work, there are some reasons for
optimism but plenty for concern. The truth is, while technology extends our capabilities as
human beings, it cannot, unfortunately, eliminate our biases and prejudices. [ Reference:
Hernán Galperin, The Conversation ]

Preserving Organizational Culture With Freelancers

Freelancer blending in with organizational culture Just like there’s a generational shift in the
workplace, there’s also a shift in the way people are working. Freelancing is the new normal.
These workers are letting go of the traditional full-time job and opting for contract-to-contract
or project-to-project work. A recent survey by Freelancers Union and Elance-o Desk revealed
that 34% of the U.S. workforce is now working as freelancers.
And because freelancers come in and out of various workplaces, it might make it difficult to
maintain your organization’s culture. So how do companies preserve and integrate these
freelancers into the workplace community? Use these five techniques to keep freelancers
aligned with your culture.
Lead the pack: Use your organization’s values to guide you. Make them your guideline for any
decisions you make, how you behave, and the way you communicate with freelancers. If you
aren’t a model for your own company’s values, how can you expect your freelancer to do the
same?
Hire for fit: Don’t just grab the first freelancer that comes along (even if they have first-rate
qualifications). Freelancers are still working for your company. They’re still going to interact
with others. So cultural fit isn’t a factor that should be put on the back burner.
Introduce them: Whether your freelancer is there for two weeks or two months, they are still
part of a team. While they’re working for you, don’t make them feel isolated. Introduce them
to the team, other teams, or the whole department—make them feel appreciated for the
work they’ll be putting in.
Treat them as your own: Oftentimes, freelancers feel like outsiders at the workplace. Let them
know how their work impacts the company and give them feedback like you would your full-
time employees. Even invite them to company events. If they’re working for you, there’s no
reason why they should be pushed to the side.
Give them a voice: Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out flaws in the workplace.
Freelancers are perfect for this. Let them voice their ideas by giving them access to your
company’s suggestion box. You’ll be surprised at the innovative ideas they can offer.
Freelancers come and go, but organizational culture stays. And just because these workers are
at your company temporarily doesn’t mean they should be treated any different. Balance your
company’s culture by bringing your values to life and making freelancers feel comfortable
while they’re at your workplace. [References: A recent survey by Freelancers Union and
Elance-oDesk]

All freelancers, regardless of their field, have been left in an economically vulnerable position
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They do not have sick days or unemployment benefits to fall
back on in the same way that an employee does. They don’t have the possibility of earning a
full or a partial salary while their employer receives government aid in the form of an ERTE
payments provided by the government during a temporary cessation of activity by a company
due to exigent circumstances. Freelancers have had their income severely reduced during the
quarantine, and in many cases, it has completely disappeared. Owners of a small business are
in a similar situation; they have the benefit of being able to apply for the aforementioned
ERTE, but they have to bear the additional responsibilities of payroll, rent and utilities for their
places of business.
There are lots of freelancing skills that help you progress, win more clients and make more
money. But one I don’t see discussed very much is mastering the art of cultural awareness.
Much of the freelance world is truly international. Whether you’re writing, working as a virtual
assistant or teaching over the internet, the likelihood is that you’ll do business with people
from a variety of different countries. It’s one of the wonders of the modern world that you can
do this from the comfort of your home office, but it also creates the potential for difficulties
and misunderstandings.
This year alone, I’ve dealt with clients in the UK, the US, Australia, Hungary, Israel, Georgia (the
country, not the American state), Portugal, Estonia and New Zealand. They’re just the
countries I remember off hand. I say that not to brag, but merely to illustrate how global a
home working career can quickly become, and to demonstrate the importance of cultural
awareness. it’s well known that people in different countries do things differently. In the years
before the internet eliminated travel as a prerequisite for working across borders,
businesspeople would learn about corporate culture in new countries before visiting them.
This is often still the case when firms branch out, and I’d particularly recommend checking out
the trade and export guides produced by the UK government, as they are a great primer on
the key points of how different nations conduct their business.
Even as a single freelancer, those guides are worth a look if you’re beginning to do business
with a client in a country you’re not familiar with. But first, this article presents a range of tips
on cultural awareness for freelancing. It will introduce you to the kind of misunderstandings
that can occur, help you to avoid them, and show you how boosting your knowledge of
international culture can help you win and retain clients. Understanding how different
countries do business
It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming everybody works in the same way, but there are
enough cultural differences, even between “similar” nations like the UK and the USA, to make
it worth gaining a sense of the contrasts.
It’s hard to bullet point differences in culture without making sweeping generalisations,
nudging against stereotypes or risking offence – but I’ll give it a shot anyway! Here are a few
examples I’ve noticed:
Examples of cultural differences in the workplace
People from the UK are more reserved in business and more likely to exchange some
pleasantries before “cutting to the chase” compared those in the US (at least in my
experience!)
Compared to those in Britain, both clients and freelancers in the US are usually faster to move
onto the topic of rates and money.
Americans generally seem more comfortable with sharing their achievements and career
histories in detail, even with those they don’t know well. I see this from emails I receive from
new readers. Conversely, Brits seem more inclined to play down their achievements.
These differences simply relate to contrasts between the US and UK. If I bring cultural
differences with other countries into the mix, it gets WAY more complicated!
For example: It’s hugely variable how polite people are in different countries. There are two
countries on my list above (which I won’t name individually!) where – to different degrees –
pleases and thank you aren’t really the norm, and there’s a far more “straight down to
business” attitude than Brits or Americans are typically used to.
Attitudes to business hierarchy vary hugely; In Scandinavia, for example, workers are used to
limited hierarchy, flat management structures, and a general feeling of equality. Meanwhile, in
Portugal, there’s still a very traditional respect for authority, and for those in roles considered
more “senior.”
Different countries have very different attitudes to holidays and days off. Workers in European
countries typically get far more paid holiday than those in the US, for example. Freelancers
tend to uphold whatever tradition they’re used to, especially as they often take time off at the
same time as family members in “normal” jobs.
Not every country works nine to five, Monday to Friday! Some countries, such as Spain, have a
long afternoon siesta and finish much later in the evening. Other countries, such as Israel,
work a Sunday to Thursday working week.
Working week
I could carry on providing more examples all day, but I hope what’s above is enough to prove
my point – especially when you think of the misunderstandings that can and do occur.
Taking into account only the cultural differences discussed above, here are just a few examples
of misunderstandings that could arise:
1. American freelancers can potentially be seen by British clients as being pushy or brash when
in the early stages of negotiations. Meanwhile, British freelancers can be held back by their
own reserve, because they’re not doing enough to draw attention to their skills and
experience.
2. Clients in some countries can risk offending freelancers from other places, with manners
that would be seen as completely normal by local workers. (I’ve personally experienced this a
few times when I’ve been taken aback by clients from other countries being brusque and
seemingly harsh. They’ve usually turned out to be lovely people demonstrating mere cultural
differences in communication!)
3. A freelancer in the US could irritate a client in Israel by hounding them with communication
on a Friday and ignoring emails on a Sunday.
4. A contractor in Europe could surprise an American client by announcing they plan “to take
most of August off.”
These examples alone serve to demonstrate why learning a bit about the business culture of
the countries you are dealing with can smooth communications and make you a better
freelancer.
Time differences
Dealing with time differences is an everyday thing for most established freelancers.
World time
Personally, my main “time challenge” has been getting used to the time difference between
the USA (where most of my readers and some of my clients are), and the UK (where I’m
located). For me, the two most direct effects of this are that my mornings are quiet because
many people are asleep, and that I get an awful lot of emails in the evening and through the
night! Here in the UK, Australia presents a particularly awkward time difference. Not only is it a
large one, but Australia is ahead. Although I’m currently typing this article before lunchtime, if
I had a deadline to finish it by close of business with a company in Australia, it would already
be four hours late. I’m embarrassed to say I did nearly fall foul of that one years ago!
Unsurprisingly, clients usually consider most of the onus of dealing with time differences to be
on their freelancers, and not on them. It’s therefore wise to get your head around what time
zone each client is in, and work out in advance your best times of catching them.
Language barriers
English is described as the “global language of business,” but not all English is the same.
There are even considerable differences between US English and UK English (the latter being
what us Brits refer to as “actual English!”) Just in case any cultural differences are coming into
play here, I will emphasize that I’m demonstrating a stereotypical British use of irony and
sarcasm in pointing that out!) Here in England we have bins instead of trash cans, and
pavements instead of sidewalks. Fanny means something very different here, and a “fag” is a
cigarette. We also spell words like “colour” and “labour” correctly 😉
One thing that I see a tremendous amount of every single day is poor English. It’s particularly
depressing when it comes from people who have English as their native language (especially
when they’re emailing me asking about becoming writers – and, yes, this happens a lot).
I also receive lots of emails from people for whom English is a second language. I have
tremendous respect for these people as Brits are notoriously bad language learners. Although
I can speak some French and Portuguese, it’s only at a basic level and nowhere near as good as
the English I see every day from people all over the world.
However, I have to be honest and say that nine times out of ten I can spot non-native English a
mile off. There are certain quirks that usually come through. This is why clients seeking writers
are often very specific that they want native speakers only.
The main thing I’d recommend – for ANYONE who’s not 100% sure of their linguistic abilities –
is to make use of the software out there. Word processors have great spell check and grammar
check capabilities, but it certainly seems that many people fail to make use of them. Even
better is Grammarly which we’ve reviewed here. There’s a free version available, which I have
activated permanently, and it catches lots of mistakes that would otherwise slip through the
net.
Language issues and cultural differences go hand-in-hand. If you want to come across as a
native English speaker, make sure you use the right tools to ensure you do; If you’re dealing
with a client in the US, use US English and don’t stubbornly stick to the British quirks. Being
mindful of these differences marks the difference between good freelancers and great
freelancers.
Money matters
There are no cultural differences quite so large as those related to money.
Just consider the fact that the average annual income in the USA is $56,850. In India, it’s
$1,670. Then consider the fact that on platforms like Up work, you have freelance candidates
from both countries going for the same writing and virtual assistant jobs, and clients having to
decide who to choose.
Earning money
This isn’t the place to embark on a discussion about fairness and equality, much as I’d like to
the cost of living is often lower where incomes are lower, for one thing. But it’s rarely precisely
proportional, and the world isn’t a fair place. However, there is one thing that never fails to
irritate me, and that’s when western freelancers whine that “they can’t get any
work because people in “poor countries” are willing to do it for next to nothing.” This is
nonsense.
For starters, there are way more opportunities out there for people in the US and the UK. Sites
like Flex Jobs and Virtual Vocations list thousands of remote jobs that are available – almost
exclusively – to people in those places. Many clients seeking freelancers insist on US or UK
applicants, in addition to having a requirement for native English language skills. When I
review opportunities for Home Working Club, I make a point of discussing “accessibility.” This
is in recognition of the fact that many things are – sadly – off limits to people in certain
countries. But there’s another factor you might not even be aware of if you’re reading this in
England or America: Many of the countries where people could theoretically do freelance
work for much less money don’t have well-established payment infrastructures. It saddens me
when I receive emails from people from Kenya or Nigeria, often with advanced degrees and
lots to offer, who struggle just to establish a way to get paid. This is due to having no access to
things many take for granted, such as access to PayPal or Stripe.
It’s therefore essential to see the big picture and gain an understanding of the importance of
cultural awareness in business, especially on the financial side. If, like me, it bugs you when
you lose a chunk of money on a job for an overseas client thanks to payment processing fees
and bad exchange rates, spare a thought for those who have issues simply working out a way
to access the money they earn.
How to develop cultural awareness when freelancing
The most important thing to take away from all of this is that building up your global cultural
awareness is something well worth doing. When you start to work for a client in a new country
for the first time, make the effort to learn a bit about that country, and the way people do
things there.
Cultural awareness people
No client’s going to mind if you don’t know everything there is to know about the place they
call home. However, they may well be impressed if you propose the best time for you to both
reliably catch each other on online chat, or query whether or not they usually work on a
Friday, or whether they want their content in US English or Real English(!)
Freelancing is never going to “go less global.” Despite what people of certain political leanings
might wish for, you can’t rewind the internet and take away peoples’ ability to work across
borders. Online globalization works for freelancers, and creates opportunities that didn’t exist
– even just ten years ago. So learn about it – boost your cultural awareness – and make the
most of the fact that you have potential clients in every corner of the world. [Reference: July
19, 2018 by Ben Taylor]