Movement in the ecosystem: Motivations for changing employment contracts
Since 2020, people’s attitudes to remote work have changed beyond recognition. It’s rarely considered a desirable perk nowadays and is almost an expectation. But what about employment status? As the economic climate has been gloomy at best due to a number of outside factors, are people happy in permanent employment or is the lure of contract work growing?
As well as being useful data for jobseekers as they consider their next career moves, it is of course useful for employers looking to entice, or perhaps more importantly retain, NetSuite talent. It’s also useful to know if the reasons people leaving you are common ground within the NetSuite community—or whether it’s down to a problem more unique to your organization.
By the same token, knowing why people leave full-time roles in order to freelance can be useful—not just in terms of reducing attrition, but also knowing whether a person’s reason fits in with the wider picture or is a problem specific to your individual company.
Motivation to move from a permanent role to freelancing
Over two-fifths (44%, up from 39% in our last survey) of permanent professionals tell us that they would consider switching to freelance/contract work in the coming year.
Reasons for this include:
| Higher earning potential | 71% |
| Flexibility in lifestyle | 53% |
| Working on different projects | 50% |
| Exposure to latest technology | 44% |
| Being your own boss | 32% |
| Ability to claim expenses against tax | 21% |
| Not sure | 2% |
| Other | 3% |
| Higher earning potential | 71% |
| Flexibility in lifestyle | 53% |
| Working on different projects | 50% |
| Exposure to latest technology | 44% |
| Being your own boss | 32% |
| Ability to claim expenses against tax | 21% |
| Not sure | 2% |
| Other | 3% |
Why aren't professionals considering contract working?
The 28% (down from 35%) of NetSuite professionals who would not consider working as a freelancer cited reasons including:
Motivation to move from freelancing to a permanent role
Over two-fifths (44%, down from 50% in our previous survey) of freelancers that responded to the survey would consider switching to a permanent role in the coming year.
The top factors most likely to attract a contractor to a permanent role include:
| Job stability and security | 60% |
| A competitive salary | 47% |
| Company's values and culture align to my own | 47% |
| A generous benefits package | 47% |
| Career progression opportunities | 40% |
| Valuable work/feeling like your work will make a positive impact | 40% |
| A senior role with more responsibilities | 40% |
| A stable income | 33% |
| To avoid the breaks between contracts | 33% |
| Remote working options | 33% |
| Job stability and security | 60% |
| A competitive salary | 47% |
| Company's values and culture align to my own | 47% |
| A generous benefits package | 47% |
| Career progression opportunities | 40% |
| Valuable work/feeling like your work will make a positive impact | 40% |
| A senior role with more responsibilities | 40% |
| A stable income | 33% |
| To avoid the breaks between contracts | 33% |
| Remote working options | 33% |
Why wouldn't freelancers consider a permanent role?
Of the 36% (up from 14%) of contractors who would not consider a permanent role in the coming year, their reasons include:
Conclusion
As ever, the earning potential is the reason that 44% of currently permanent employees would consider the switch to freelancing—with 71% citing the increased earning potential as the primary motivator.
Little surprise at a time when everyday living costs are on the increase, but it also offers some crumb of comfort to employers worried that their offices may be about to empty.
Job stability and security remains the primary reason professionals are looking at the freelance market as an option, but it’s also why some contractors have their eye on permanent employment again. Perhaps more surprising is a competitive income featuring highly once again as a motivation to switch.
For organizations who’d love to recruit those with the rich experience that comes from the consultant talent pool but have previously thought of them as being out of their budget, the good news is that it may not be as unattainable as previously thought.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the NetSuite ecosystem.
