Real Words

As a professional blogger I have a number of steady clients who I have been blogging for over the course of several years. This year a couple of them have already sent me Christmas bonuses via PayPal. Totally unexpected and so sweet!

I am happy about this for three reasons:

• The money is nice of course. But this is actually a small reason compared to the other reasons this makes me happy.
• It makes me really feel like a part of the team. I work every week for these clients. I do all that I can to promote and build up their website and blog traffic. It’s nice to know that I am considered a regular “employee” deserving of a Christmas bonus even though I work remotely because it really makes me feel like I’m recognized as an important part of the company’s team.
• I think this is a hint that things are shifting in the world of freelance and independent contracting work. More and more people are doing this type of work. I think that there are more “freelancers” who are really functioning as work-at-home employees for specific businesses. The Christmas bonus is one sign that this is beginning to be recognized. Another sign was a recent announcement by oDesk that their freelancers can start getting group health benefits through them. This recognition of the difference between true freelance work and work-at-home independent contracting is important and I think it suggests bigger changes to come.