Do Conscientious Employees Lose Out?—What Freelancing Taught Me About the Fate of Hard Workers

The other day, a friend complained to me about work.

One of their colleagues had resigned, nearly doubling my friend’s workload. Naturally, they had asked their manager to hire a replacement, but nothing was happening.

My friend explained the reason this way:

“In the end, I keep working hard and somehow keep everything running, so management probably thinks, ‘See? We can manage with the people we already have.’”

That is probably exactly right.

If the work continues despite someone leaving, then from the company’s perspective, it has saved the cost of one employee. Management has no reason to rush to hire a replacement.

Understaffing becomes a problem only when the workplace finally breaks down completely.

In other words, the harder conscientious employees work, the less likely the company is to replace the people who leave.

The irony is hard to miss.

I Was the Same When I Was an Employee

In fact, I behaved much the same way when I was a company employee.

If work remained, I stayed late. If someone was struggling, I helped. If my extra effort kept the workplace running, I thought that was enough.

After leaving salaried employment and becoming a freelancer, however, my thinking changed completely.

For a freelancer, time itself is the product being sold.

Of course, I properly complete the work covered by the contract. But if I am asked to do more, the conversation turns to additional fees.

Work I would once have accepted with a sigh and a “Fine, I’ll do it” now receives a different response: “That is outside the scope of the contract, so it will require an additional fee.”

That may sound cold, but I am running a business too.

If I work for free, I cannot make a living as a freelancer.

The self-sacrifice I once considered a virtue began to look like nothing more than poor business sense the moment I became a freelancer.

So Is Freelancing the Better Deal?

It is not that simple.

When a company’s performance worsens and it needs to reduce staff, freelancers are the first people whose contracts are terminated.

Unlike employees, freelancers have no protection once the contract ends.

Meanwhile, employees who have continued working hard despite unreasonable demands from the company are relatively likely to be protected.

A company does not want to lose employees who accept extra work, tolerate difficult requests, and keep the workplace running.

In other words, those employees may be used for the company’s convenience during normal times in exchange for a greater chance of employment protection when conditions become difficult.

Viewed as a calculation of gains and losses, the trade-off is quite interesting.

Freelancers protect their time, but bear the risk of losing their work themselves.

Employees gain job stability, but are pushed around by the company’s needs.

Both give up something in order to receive something else.

The More Conscientious You Are, the Harder It Becomes to Leave the Company

Still, one thing concerns me.

When people keep pushing themselves for the company, that way of working eventually becomes normal.

If there are not enough people, they work harder. If the workload grows, they do not refuse it. Even when overtime continues, they somehow manage.

The company then begins organizing the work on the assumption that they will continue that way.

The employee also begins thinking, “This workplace cannot function without me,” making it even harder to leave.

They have, in a sense, become locked into the company.

There is no doubt that the company needs them.

But are they needed because their abilities are highly valued? Or simply because they are a convenient person who will accept unreasonable demands?

The two may look similar, but they are completely different.

In the End, Who Are You Working So Hard For?

I have been a freelancer for many years, so I have no intention of returning to the way I worked as an employee.

I do my work properly. But I also have no intention of accepting unlimited work beyond the contract.

In return, I cannot complain if my contract is terminated. I accept that this is the nature of the business.

My friend, by contrast, has the stability of salaried employment. Accepting a certain amount of extra strain in exchange may be a valid choice.

But taking on the work of an employee who has resigned, as in this case, is different.

Solving a staffing shortage is supposed to be the company’s responsibility.

If employees at the front line solve it by pushing themselves beyond reasonable limits, the company stops recognizing that the problem exists.

The hardworking employee believes they are helping the company, but in reality they are helping the company leave the problem unresolved.

The company will undoubtedly rate such an employee highly.

After all, they do the work of two people without the company having to raise their salary.