Previous research indicates that people believe working for yourself gives you freedom from constraints that exist in formal bureaucratic organizations, according to an article in the Journal of Small Business Management. Being self-employed, people think, offers potential for more challenging opportunities, higher economic rewards, high job security and personal achievement.

My highly unofficial research (talking to dozens of unhappy workers) shows that people like the idea of self-employment because they're sick of politics, unethical management decisions and incompetent managers who have power over their security and wages and ability to get promoted and do a job the way they want to do it.

One worker in Cincinnati told me he decided to work for himself because he was "disillusioned with the attitudes of virtually every employer for whom I have had the displeasure of working" and that self employment "is the only avenue I see available that would enable me to produce the kind of quality work that my upbringing and personality demand."

There are 10,252,000 people who identify themselves as self-employed according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two things about what seems to be a growing trend towards self-employment concern me.

One, many people's decision to work for themselves is a default plan based on what they want to get away from instead of something they really want.

Two, most people don't know what they're getting into. The reality is that self-employed folks:

• Tend to work more hours than those who are employed by companies.
• Work alone and have no one to get help from when there are problems or things need to get done.
• Wear all the hats of being a business owner and have to deal with the smallest of tasks of running a business. As a result, several days a week you may never get to do the real work you want to do because you're busy obtaining business, buying supplies, paying bills, collecting money owed, sending invoices or dealing with an equipment breakdown. And if you're dealing with a technology issue--anything from e-mail to a computer glitch--you should plan on devoting up to an entire day getting it fixed or changed. I speak from experience.
• Have more at stake because assets may be at risk when they own their own business.
• Can have more stress and unique psychological demands. According to research cited in the Journal of Small Business Management article, self-employed workers experienced higher stress than salaried workers along with loss of appetite, inability to relax, nervousness or shakiness inside.

Being your own boss does potentially offer higher economic rewards, challenging opportunities and more job security and control over your life. It also offers new opportunities for frustration and aggravation, heightened stress and lack of balance. Nothing is perfect. Just know that when you give up a salary and all the trappings that come with it, you open a new door fraught with demons you don't necessarily control either.

© by Andrea Kay