“If You Hate It, Quit”: A Freelancer's Greatest Asset Is Freedom, Not Money

Recently, an engineer I worked with at my previous company contacted me. He now works as a freelancer too.

It seems he ended up on a terrible project.

He told me that the person in charge on the client’s side was extremely abusive and kept complaining at him endlessly. It was a case of what is known in Japan as customer harassment, or kasuhara.

Companies have tightened their compliance standards in recent years, and bullying someone inside the company can now become a major issue. Yet some people suddenly become overbearing when the person on the receiving end is an outside contractor or freelancer.

They are kind to employees but throw their weight around with contractors. Their character could hardly be more obvious.

From what he told me, he seemed to be suffering considerably under the psychological strain.

What occurred to me was very simple.

“If you hate it, why not quit?”

Freelancers Can Walk Away from Work They Hate

What is the greatest difference between an employee and a freelancer?

Is it higher income? The freedom to choose your working hours?

To me, the greatest difference is the ability to walk away from work and relationships you hate, based on your own judgment.

As an employee, you cannot easily quit just because you have a bad relationship with your boss or coworkers. Changing jobs requires a certain amount of resolve.

For freelancers, however, it is a different story.

Of course, you still need to follow the required contractual procedures and hand over your work properly. But you can end the contract and look for another project.

Freelancers do not have the stable salary, paid leave, or retirement allowance that employees receive. If you are already accepting that instability, you should at least make the fullest possible use of your freedom to choose your work.

No contract is worth bowing to an unreasonable person every day and wearing yourself down mentally.

Not having to deal with people you dislike is, by itself, enough to make freelancing worthwhile.

The Real Value of Money Is Being Able to Say No

Hearing his story made me think again about the value of money.

We need money to live. It pays the rent, buys food, and sustains our daily lives.

Once you have established a certain level of financial security, however, money acquires another kind of value.

It gives you the freedom to refuse things you do not want to do.

With enough savings, you can live for a while without working. If you have skills that allow you to earn again, you do not need to cling to your current client.

In other words, money and skills allow you to say “no” to other people.

I believe this is the greatest benefit of having money.

It is not driving a luxury car or eating at an expensive restaurant.

It is not having to bow to people you dislike. It is being able to reject unreasonable demands. And it is being able to leave on your own terms.

Money is a tool that prevents other people from controlling your life.

Why Have Freedom If You Never Use It?

Some people become freelancers yet continue putting up with the same things they endured as employees.

What if the client terminates the contract? What if I cannot find another project?

I understand that anxiety.

But was not the point of going independent to gain the ability to choose your own work, despite those fears?

There is no sense in gaining your freedom only to cling to a terrible client until your mental health collapses.

Of course, your income may stop until you find your next project. That is precisely why you should regularly save money, improve your skills, and keep yourself in a position where you can choose other work at any time.

That is what you are earning money for.

I want to tell him that he does not need to force himself to stay.

The greatest privilege of being a freelancer is the ability to tell an unpleasant client, “That will be all, thank you.”

You left your company to become free. Why turn around and make yourself work like an employee at an exploitative company?

Freedom means nothing if all you do is possess it. Unless you use it, it is merely an unpaid employee benefit.