The freelance economy, once a small, largely anonymous portionof the workforce, has become a dynamic and growing source ofmanpower. The flexibility of this workforce cuts both ways: Itallows the worker more freedom in determining when and where towork, and it offers the employer the opportunity to downsizebrick-and-mortar facilities and benefit from the expanded hours aremote workforce represents.

Staples surveyed office workers and found that 12 percent arefull time freelancers, and another 12 percent freelance in additionto working a full time job. When freelancers were asked why theychoose not to journey to an office every day, 39 percent saidfreelancing has led to greater income for them than staff jobs.Another 37 percent said setting their own schedules is the bigdraw, and 32 percent said they freelance to achieve betterwork-life balance.

“The freelance economy is a win-win for people who have a desireto work on their own time and companies who want to streamlinein-house operations,” said Pat Griffin, enterprise accountexecutive at HourlyNerd, a company that connects businesses whoneed help with a project to an expert who can do the job. “Withsmart, collaborative technology becoming more mainstream, thefreelance economy enables businesses to redefine their workplacestrategy, making the physical workspace more effective byestablishing efficient team structures and collaborationmodels.”