Leaving the Corporate Roost Behind

The Freedom of Consulting Lures Ever More Workers

A few years back, because of the dot-com bust and a dearth of jobs in his field, Allan Zelsman reluctantly turned to temporary work. Eventually, though, he embraced the freedom of independent consulting.

"I like the variety of projects I am involved with and the money," said Zelsman, 43, a software developer from Manassas.

Long gone are the days when companies provided job security, and in exchange, employees pledged their loyalty. "That bargain began to break down more than a decade ago and is essentially kaput today," said Daniel H. Pink, Washington-based author of "Free Agent Nation" and "A Whole New Mind."

In February 2005, 10.3 million independent contractors represented 7.4 percent of total employment, up from 6.4 percent four years earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 2.5 million worked on call, while 1.2 million served temporary-help agencies and 813,000 depended on contract firms.

In some ways, the situation offers distinct advantages to independent workers, whom Pink described as free agents. "If you have multiple clients and customers, and one of them disappears, that's not great. But it's not fatal," he said.

On the other hand, if "you've invested all your human capital in a single employer -- and that employer fires you -- you're in big trouble. Smart free agents are diversifying their work in much the same way that smart investors diversify their investments."

There are other pluses, said Zelsman. "The pay is generally much better than the full-time equivalent."

But not the benefits. These workers often have to buy an expensive health insurance policy on their own or do without. And they can't always count on cash when they need it most.

Despite such drawbacks, many people have carved careers out of contingent and alternative work arrangements. It's a trend experts say is likely to continue in a cost-saving era in which employers favor a flexible labor force.

"The jobs that are created tend to be freelance, and people are just following the work," said Sara Horowitz, executive director of Working Today, a New York advocacy organization for the self-employed.

Technology makes it possible to build nest eggs without the assurance of full-time jobs, Pink said. "Today, workers can own the means of production, which means talented people need organizations a lot less than organizations need talented people. If all you need to create wealth is your laptop, your network of connections and your brain, it's a lot easier to go out on your own."

A variety of options exist outside the world of full-time permanent work. Temporary employees undertake assignments lasting days, weeks or months, filling businesses' needs during seasonal fluctuations, periods of heavier workloads and staff vacancies. Contract employees are brought in for a predetermined time based on specific projects for customers, said Richard A. Wahlquist, president and chief executive of the American Staffing Association in Alexandria.