Freelance cons. Freelance VS. Office work: pros and cons

Working for your uncle doesn't suit you? Have you decided to leave the office and try freelancing? First, a small digression about what freelancing is. The word "freelance" is made up of two words in English, the word free (free) and lance (spear, pike), if you combine these two words, you get a free spearman or a free spearman. That is, in the Middle Ages, this was the name given to people who were civilian soldiers, they themselves chose whom they wanted to serve. They were mainly employed short term, for example, during the siege of the city, protection, or other military operations. After a while, freelancers began to be called people who do some kind of one-time work and get paid.

In the vastness of the Internet, there are often discussions about freelancing, about its pros and cons. Why do people often leave the office and become freelancers? Times are changing, and now the title of freelancer has any specialist who performs short-term, and sometimes long-term work, without being present in the staff of permanent employees. The word freelancer is characterized with the synonym "free artist". Every day there are more and more freelancers, because you can do work without leaving your home and at the same time have a good income.

As I said, freelancing is work at home, in front of a monitor screen. Who can do this kind of work? For example, someone can be a homebody and does not like to go out, travel, spend time on the road and sit in the office from bell to bell, this is the job for him. And someone can’t stand being within four walls all day, then freelancing will not be easy for him. But still there are exceptions. If you seriously want to become a freelancer, then you first need to remember about responsibility.

Advantages and disadvantages of freelancing:

Freelance pros:

Of course, the most important plus is that a person is relieved of the need to go to work every day, shake in a crowded subway car, or stand in traffic jams for hours, stay at the workplace all day, or vice versa, run around the classrooms, perhaps even the offices, with pieces of paper on various matters, as well as from time to time to trample on the carpet of the authorities.

A person who has devoted himself to freelancing has the opportunity to manage his own time and set life priorities. A freelancer is his own boss, commander, financier and economist all rolled into one, who works when he wants and for as long as he wants, without leaving home. A freelancer can choose any project according to their desire, needs or mood.

Many freelancers work with more than just one client. And from this it follows that at the end and delivery of all projects, you can earn very good money. At right approach to work, a freelancer can earn more than a colleague who stays in the office.

You have complete control over your schedule. Love to sleep? Sleep well, no one forces you to get up on an alarm clock and run to the computer. If you need to leave or leave somewhere, you will not need to ask anyone for leave.

It is not necessary to work at home, many, for example, work where they want. The main thing is to have a laptop with Internet access. If you have moved to another city or country, you can immediately start earning when a simple worker needs time to look for a new job.

A freelancer can collect a personal portfolio of completed work and projects. While in the company you would not be allowed to do this, due to a non-disclosure agreement.

As a freelancer, there are no salary limits. This does not mean that you will have mountains of gold, but with great desire and hard work you can get a high income. This is especially true if you got a customer from a large agency :)

For every freelancer, there are many more advantages to working remotely, but as in every field, there are also negative sides.

Freelancing cons:

First of all, there is a risk of non-payment. Sometimes you can stumble upon an unscrupulous customer who will not pay for your project, or will pay only a small part and hide in an unknown direction. Of course, there are ways to minimize risk, this is to use the service - a transaction without risk, but unfortunately few people think about it, so you have to learn from your mistakes.

The second point is the lack of stability, that is, today you have orders, but not tomorrow, and a freelancer often has to spend time on work unrelated to his specialization.

Another minus is a damaged phone (customer-intermediary-performer). It happens that the customer, through his manager, asks to place a job advertisement, for example, to create a website layout for his company. You undertake to fulfill this application, after some time you send an intermediate version to the manager, he confirms that everything is fine, everything is in order, do it further, just add little things there, and move that button a little to the left. Of course you do as you are told. As a result, after a while (and this may not be a day, not two, but a month), after finishing the work, send the final result to the manager, he disappears for a while and, upon returning, tells you that the boss did not approve, redo everything.

It is difficult for a novice freelancer to break through among experienced people in order to get an order. You will also have to get used to the fact that your relatives will perceive your stay at home as a vacation, and at first you will have to endure such an attitude towards yourself. Of course, this is not all the pros and cons of freelancing, but only a small part.

Before becoming a freelancer, weigh the pros and cons, all the pros and cons, and accept correct solution. Each person decides for himself what he likes best. The main thing is to become a true professional in your field, then you will be in demand among employers and will be able to receive a decent salary.

If you want to become a freelancer or find a remote job, but can't decide if the game is worth the candle, we will try to help you. As with anything, freelancing has its advantages and disadvantages.

It often happens that the same characteristic is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In our case, there will be practically no exceptions to this rule.

Freelancing pros and cons

This list is, of course, incomplete. there are always some exclusive reasons to freelance (or avoid it). We tried to list the main aspects of motivation.

The popular belief that freelancing as a mass phenomenon is a product of the 21st century, spread due to the development of technology and job cuts, is in fact fundamentally wrong. Freelancing has been around for a very long time. For the first time this term in the meaning that we use now appeared in the novel "Ivanhoe" by Walter Scott, that is, in 1819. So the writer called the hired warriors of the Middle Ages. But if we remember that the events of the novel refer to 1194, and the very concept of "mercenary" can be found long before that, then the conclusion suggests itself. Apparently, there have always been people striving for freedom in the field of labor, and neither our century nor the previous one has brought anything essentially new to this area.

Today, according to Wikipedia, “freelancer (from the English freelancer - free spearman, mercenary; in figurative meaning- free artist) - a person who performs work without concluding a long-term contract with the employer, hired only to perform a certain list of works (freelance worker). From a legal point of view, I would like to add to this definition that freelancers in relation to customers are contractors, not employees, since the contracts concluded with them are regulated not by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, but by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If signed labor contract, even if it is urgent, then the employee who concluded it can no longer be considered a freelancer.

For customers, cooperation with freelancers is generally beneficial, as it has quite significant advantages both from a professional and financial point of view. But it is impossible not to pay attention to the existing disadvantages. For people who choose to work as a freelancer, there are also both positive and negative aspects. To understand the issue of interaction between freelancers and customers, we will consider it in more detail.

Freelance pros

The positive aspects of this phenomenon, as already mentioned, are both for the freelancers themselves and for their customers. We will consider them separately, since they have little in common.

For customers

Professionalism of freelancers

Most often, freelancers become people who have already achieved a lot in their profession, have a solid work experience, a broad professional outlook, and others. positive traits. Just on this moment they already want to work for themselves, and not "for their uncle." This is an almost mandatory component, otherwise the freelancer simply will not conclude a single contract due to a weak resume. The main thing here is to understand that in front of you is just such an instance, and not a person who is not capable of systematic work.

Ability to make decisions

Freelancers usually become people who are able to take responsibility for their actions, who know how to make decisions and do not need constant guidance. This is logical, because the ability to start organizing your life on your own requires the listed character traits. Due to this, you can significantly save time that you usually spend on communication with employees who are afraid to take a step without guidance. In this case, it is important not to confuse politeness and a desire to please the customer with indecision and inability to act independently.

Interaction within the team

Working on an order, freelancers, as a rule, do not intrigue, do not quarrel idle with others, do not try to take leadership positions and do not create a lot of problems associated with working in a team. For freelancers, this simply makes no sense, since they will finish the work and move on to another customer, another team. Today's environment for them - only temporary companions. They will not receive any benefit from the conflict, therefore, they are unlikely to become its source. There are exceptions, of course, but they are a consequence of the malignity of the nature of a particular freelancer, and not the rule.

Guaranteed performance of work (provision of services)

Since the freelancer is connected with the customer by a contract (usually for the provision of services), he is obliged to fulfill the concluded agreement. Refuse to fulfill your obligations unilaterally a freelancer can, but he will have to fully compensate the customer for the losses caused by such a decision (Article 782 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This favorably distinguishes contractors from full-time employees. The latter can quit their employer at any time at their own discretion, leaving their former bosses with a pile of problems, unfinished projects and unfulfilled work, while the employer will still be forced to pay the "defector" in full and the maximum that he can force him to do is work for two weeks.

Lack of social obligations

Since the freelancer is not an employee of the client company, the latter does not bear any social obligations towards him. That is, it does not pay for vacations, sick leave, maternity benefits, etc., but only pays a fee for work done or services rendered. From a financial point of view, this is certainly beneficial.

Reducing the tax burden

This "plus" occurs only if the freelancer who has entered into an agreement with you is an individual entrepreneur. In this case, he pays taxes for himself, the business of the customer is to accept the work or services and pay the fee.

If the freelancer has not issued the status of an individual entrepreneur, then all insurance payments are borne by the customer. However, even in this case there is a benefit associated with mandatory payments, albeit a small one. Contributions to the FSS of the Russian Federation are not charged for payments under civil law contracts (clause 2, part 3, article 9 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ “On insurance premiums to the Pension Fund Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund and territorial compulsory medical insurance funds"). Depending on the category of the organization, the benefit compared to a full-time employee in 2012 may be 1.9-2.9% of the amount of the payment.

Contributions "for injuries" are also not charged, unless otherwise provided by the contract.

For freelancers

Lack of work order

Freelancers are not employees of the customer company and are not required to comply with the internal labor regulations, working hours and other restrictions established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. That is, they do not have to show up at work by nine, leave at six, and have lunch only from one to two. They themselves are the masters of their time and are only responsible for the quality and timing of the work performed or services rendered, and not for how they do it.

Ability to work on multiple orders

Since the freelancer works for the result, he can manage his time on his own. Therefore, if such an opportunity exists, no one bothers the freelancer to complete several orders at the same time, which is very interesting from a financial point of view.

Professional growth

Freelancers usually work for several clients. Therefore, in the process labor activity they have the opportunity to study different segments of the business, encounter solutions to diverse issues and thus grow professionally.

Special relationship with the team

Freelancers interact with the customer's team, but, as they say, they don't need anything from these people. There is no competition for positions and salaries, there is no need to “bend in”, there is no need to tremble that you will be “hooked up” and fired. You can just enjoy talking.

Possibility to choose an order

If a freelancer has already made a name for himself and he has orders, then there is always the opportunity to refuse the work that he does not like. However, if there are few orders, then the freelancer can still do this and it will be his choice, and not the choice of the employer.

Freelancers can't be fired

Freelancers are not afraid that tomorrow they will fall under the leadership hot hand and they will be fired own will". They are protected from this by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for the enforcement of obligations, in particular, a penalty, retention of the debtor's property, etc. Of course, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation also protects the rights of workers, but in practice, freelancers are more protected. In addition, the absence of fear of being fired saves a lot of nerves and contributes to the fulfillment of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's "covenant" to "squeeze a slave out of himself drop by drop."

Freelancing cons

If there are pluses, then, as a rule, there are also minuses. And the interaction of freelancers with customers is no exception. We will also consider them separately, since the disadvantages of both sides are very different.

For customers

The source of "freethinking"

The relationship between freelancers and customers is partnership, not subordinate. A freelancer cannot be ordered - only negotiated. Consequently, the control over the process of performing work or providing services is somewhat reduced, and the employer does not have the opportunity to call a freelancer and say: “Do it again ...”, and for the same money. Also, according to many employers, due to the fact that freelancers are not required to comply with the internal labor regulations and other rules adopted by the customer, the level of corporate culture, and the personal qualities inherent in the "average" freelancer give rise to work collective"free thinking".

Responsibility

A full-time employee can almost always be fired "of his own free will", with a little intimidation. This is not the case with a freelancer. The customer is liable under the contract, just like the freelancer himself. And, in which case, he will have to compensate for the losses (Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and pay interest on the use of other people's in cash(Article 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Error in choosing a counterparty

You can make a mistake when choosing a freelancer and get unsatisfactory results of work or poor quality services. To avoid this, you need to read in detail the resume of the freelancer with whom you are going to sign the contract, as well as find out what projects he worked on before.

Communication problems

The freelancer has never worked for your company before and doesn't know anyone at your company. There may be communication problems. To avoid this, it is necessary to specify in advance the circle of people with whom the freelancer will interact, and hold all the necessary meetings and negotiations.

For freelancers

Lack of stability

Freelancers have to look for a job on their own, for this they need to make an effort, often even more than they spend on the work itself. If there are no orders, there will be no money. Freelancers are not paid salaries twice a month.

Lack of social package

Freelancers are not employees of the customer, so they are not entitled to vacations, sick leave, maternity benefits, or other payments. The decision of their social problems» they are self-employed, based on their earnings.

Independent tax accounting

If a freelancer has registered as an individual entrepreneur, then he is obliged to keep tax records on his own, since in some respects an individual entrepreneur is actually equated to legal entity. However, an entrepreneur always has more orders, since from the point of view of the tax burden, it is more profitable to cooperate with them, and tax accounting for individual entrepreneurs does not pose a particular problem even for those who have little knowledge in this area.

The need for self-discipline

Only at first glance it seems that freelancers are free-flying birds. In practice, they often work more than full-time employees. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to calculate your strength and organize the workflow.

Lack of a permanent social circle

Working independently, freelancers do not acquire work colleagues. They don’t go out on the stairs to smoke, they don’t wash the bones for the authorities, they don’t dine at the nearest cafe. At first glance it seems that the losses are small. In practice, for many people, it is the impossibility of being constantly in the process of communication that becomes a stumbling block.

Of course, each company decides for itself whether it cooperates with freelancers or not. Likewise, every working person has the right to make an independent decision whether to become a full-time employee or go into free swimming. As you can see, freelancing has both significant advantages and equally significant disadvantages. In conclusion, I would like to note that in the United States "free artists" are 7.4% of the working population. In Russia, freelancing is not yet so developed, many are afraid of the lack of social guarantees and income instability. Nevertheless, in our country there is already a holiday - Freelancer's Day. It has been celebrated on May 14 since 2005.

It is convenient for companies to work with freelancers remotely. They don't need jobs, they don't have holidays, they don't show up late for work, and they don't complain about not having time for their personal lives. In addition, there are fewer cars on the roads, and for those who find it difficult to get to the office every day due to health conditions, it is much easier to get a job.

In general, the picture is pleasant: freelancers not only work comfortably themselves, but also make the world around them better. From the outside, their life seems rosy, but it has its own characteristics. For those who want to say goodbye to office stability, we found out how freelancing affects various aspects of work.

earnings

According to a study of the Russian-speaking market of remote work high school economy, if we compare self-employed workers and office workers, the former look more successful in terms of income. Even though a freelancer's earnings can vary from month to month. At the same time, income is limited only by the capabilities of the employee himself, and this is his great advantage.

It takes a long time to get more from a company. Freelancer can take more work and increase your wages, if necessary.

When working remotely, you have to deal with uncertainty and fluctuations in income. But these incomes directly depend on the freelancer himself: he receives as much as he managed to complete orders or projects.

Job satisfaction

For freelancers, often the pleasure of work is a priority over high income; it is easier for them to adapt their activities to their needs. Susan David, psychologist and business coach, in Emotional Agility. How to Learn to Embrace Change and Enjoy Work and Life” writes: “Those who have begun to engage in work adaptation are often more satisfied with their professional lives, perform better and have greater personal purpose.”

When working in an office, you usually have to perform those tasks that are assigned from above. Freelancers, on the other hand, choose work that they like: they can abandon boring projects and choose only what is truly exciting.

Sometimes you have to work hard to find exactly what will bring pleasure. Copywriter Alisa Orlova started her freelancing career by taking on all tasks indiscriminately, but after that she learned to be more selective: “It was so scary to miss something! I wrote lyrics about everything in the world: fashion toilets, dog litter, concrete mixers… I thought it was necessary to keep all the customers who come to me with orders. But I managed to quickly understand that I was overburdening myself with something that was not really interesting to me. I switched to narrower topics: psychology, personal development, the search for a calling. She began to offer services to those companies that needed texts on such topics, and gained a pool of clients. The work has become a thrill, and the customers are satisfied.”

Social package and stability

With freelancing comes a lot more responsibility for your life. More options for choosing everything from a bank account and insurance to where you live and work. In other words, you can set up your life as comfortably as possible for yourself.

Alas, not everyone is ready for such a responsibility. In the studies of freelancers of Russian and Western scientists, financial instability comes to the fore among the negative aspects. remote work. In addition, many freelancers face social insecurity: they are not provided with a VHI policy, they still lack sick leave and pensions. A number of these difficulties can be solved if you start an individual entrepreneur, but for this step you will need to improve your legal and financial literacy. Besides individual entrepreneurs burdened with obligations in the form of reporting and taxes.

“Another disadvantage of freelancing is informal, verbal agreements, which sometimes lead to unpleasant situations,” adds freelancer Anna Turiyanskaya. This happens if they are asked to complete tasks out of friendship or acquaintance, and then they do not give the promised money or evaluate the work below its market value.

Place and time of work

Remote workers are not as dependent on time as office workers. As a rule, they close tasks on the named dates and participate in remote meetings scheduled in advance. According to the results of Western and domestic studies of freelancers, the main advantage of remote work for them is a flexible schedule and the ability to work from anywhere.

Indeed, with remote employment it is possible to work not only from home: many freelancers travel or move to quiet secluded places. It doesn’t matter if you are an owl or a lark: you can decide for yourself which mode to work in.

“I can plan my time the way I want and vary my workload,” says freelance journalist Anna Turiyanskaya. - As a rule, freelancers have a more formal relationship with customers than subordinates with managers: a friendly, respectful distance is maintained, which is nice. You do not waste time and money on the road, you can even work in pajamas, cook your own food for lunch - this is a significant savings.

Perhaps independence is perhaps the most important skill of a freelancer: you yourself need to plan and divide your activities by time in order to hand over work on time. In addition, for remote work, it is important to be able to motivate yourself to work, since there are no “kicks” from the management.

Client base

It is not necessary to work with those customers that you do not like or bring a lot of unnecessary trouble. Being a freelancer, you can terminate the contract or, after completing the work, stop working with the company. There is no such opportunity inside the company: you need to work and produce results, regardless of whether you like to do the assigned tasks or not.

Freelancers have to "get" their own work. There are a number of freelance exchanges out there, but the competition there can be quite high. Most reliable way find clients - promote your services and develop client base. This requires sales and negotiation skills, and before you go free-swimming, it makes sense to expand your professional knowledge if they are not enough to find customers.

So, photographer Maxim Alekseev learned the basics of promotion on the Internet to find customers: “I find it difficult to sell my services live, so I took a short course on how to sell services on Instagram. Now my account is stable right amount clients, and I just need to competently manage it, post pictures, communicate in the comments.

Contacts with other people

Many specialists, leaving the office walls, are happy to give up leadership, control, and constant communication with colleagues. Of course, working in open space can be unpleasant, and "air conditioning wars" and diseases drive you crazy. For freelancers, most of their communications take place electronically, and for introverts, this is a real find.

Research confirms that telecommuting workers sometimes complain about the lack of communication.

One of the values ​​of working in an office is the opportunity to consult with colleagues and learn from more experienced employees. Freelancing requires the ability to search for answers to questions, engage in self-study, build own plans development.

In addition, freelancers who are passionate about work can become so deeply involved in tasks that they risk being lost to the world, and in this sense, work-life balance is not achieved. Such a fate does not threaten those who are accustomed to competently prioritize.

Which is better: freelancing or office work?

The answer is not simple. Each activity has its pros and cons, and which one is right for you depends entirely on your personality and how you want to work.

Therefore, to help you make the right decision, we decided to compare freelancing with office work in several ways, such as flexibility, work control, security, and more.

Whether you're sitting in the office dreaming of freedom, or tired of freelancing and aiming for a full-time job, this article will help you decide. It will also be helpful if you are just starting out in your career and want to know which path to take.

The concepts of freelancers and employees are a bit fuzzy these days, so for this article, employees are people who work full-time on a contract for a particular company with a regular salary. And freelancers are “freelance artists” who work for themselves and collaborate with many clients.

FLEXIBILITY

Many employees work much more hours than the 9 to 17 standard, and even outside business hours, they are expected to be available by phone or e-mail. And while there is part-time work, reduced hours, and segregation of duties, most forms of employment follow inflexible and fixed hours, with only a few weeks off per year.

While employers often give their employees time off for important family and other personal events, research has shown that people who spend more time with their families often don't do well in their careers—particularly women who have children.

As a freelancer, you tend to have a lot more flexibility in how you work. You can set your own work schedule, choose your own tasks, increase or decrease work hours, without ignoring family life and social obligations. If you manage to cope with the order within the agreed time, then you can easily take a day off for the whole day, or even two.

Don't get carried away and think that you will spend all your time playing with your kids or spending time with your significant other. Work can pile up, and when deadlines are on fire, you may have to cancel your plans and work all night to finish the job.

Without a clear work schedule, colleagues to cover for, and a guaranteed paycheck at the end of the month, it's easy to take on too much. When the question is put like this, you start to doubt the flexibility of freelancing.

What does this mean for you?

If you like consistency and feel good about being tied to a daily schedule, then a full-time job on the payroll is probably the way to go. a good choice. If you want to be in charge of your own schedule or have many obligations outside of work that require your time, then freelancing is a great option.

BENEFITS

How does it work for office workers?

One of the big perks of being an office worker is access to some benefits such as health insurance, paid vacations, maternity leave, pension or other benefit payments. These things can make a huge difference to you. financial well-being and health, and for your family as well.

And besides the main benefits, companies often organize various events for employees and provide some benefits. For example, as a free subscription to gym, food in the cafeteria, access to a range of discounts. In addition, large firms often provide a training budget so that you can develop your skills at the expense of the company.

How does it work for freelancers?

In general, as a freelancer, you are on your own. You must manage your own health insurance, you are not paid vacation pay, and you must take care of and plan for your own retirement. When it comes to learning, that is also your responsibility.

What does this mean for you?

This is one of the few settings where there is no clear winner. The extra perks provided by a good employer are very valuable, and the main downside to freelancing is having to arrange your own insurance and retirement accounts. However, there are many opportunities to invest money, providing yourself with everything you need.

CONTROL OVER WORK

How does it work for office workers?

In a company you have a boss and that person tells you what to do. You must also work within the organization's rules (both written and unwritten), which can be quite extensive. The reality is that you have less control over your work than as a freelancer.

If you have a good boss, he will probably give you some autonomy, and as you rise in rank, control over your work should increase. However, you will still be dependent on others to achieve your goal, but you can still carve out some independence for yourself.

How does it work for freelancers?

On the face of it, you have complete control as a freelancer. You choose what to work on and what not to work on. If the project does not interest you, you can simply refuse it.

The trouble is, at the end of the month you have to pay the bills. And if you are not in a very good position, then you will probably have to take on some task orders that you will not be so happy about.

And while you may think differently, you also have a "boss" for every job: your client gives you instructions and expects a certain level of work from you. You can gain independence and control over how to do the job, but if you deviate too much from the client's requirements, you can run into problems.

What does this mean for you?

It's a myth that remote work gives you more control over than working in a company. But, if you notice, there are some mitigating factors.

SECURITY AND STABILITY

How does it work for office workers?

It's hard to argue with the fact that working in an office is safer than freelancing. You receive a regular salary, and as long as you do a good job, you can expect to be paid for your work at the end of each month. Even if you are fired, the employer will usually notify you and provide some compensation.

How does it work for freelancers?

Freelancing can be very unstable. You can get into a feast or famine cycle where one month you're swamped with work, and the next you can't find a single job. This makes it difficult to plan and manage finances. And even if you have regular customers, you can lose them at any time.

But it's not all bad news for freelancers. Poor office workers have everything in one place, so losing a job is a disaster for them. A freelancer, on the other hand, has several clients, so if you lose one, you can simply rely on income from other clients until you find a replacement. It is unlikely that you will lose all your customers at once, unless there is a huge economic downturn and turmoil in your industry. By the way, this also affects office workers.

What does this mean for you?

As a rule, office work is more stable, offering a predictable income from month to month? So what is it a good option if you don't like the idea of ​​having to worry all the time when it's time to pay your utilities. Freelance work, on the other hand, can bounce up and down, so you'll need a lot of patience with uncertainty, especially in the beginning. However, keep in mind that having multiple sources of income gives you additional security.

SUMMING UP

In conclusion, I would like to summarize and highlight some of the pros and cons of both activities.

Benefits of working as a freelancer:

• Greater flexibility and ability to choose working hours.
• The ability to choose a job of your choice.
• Multiple sources of income

Freelancing Disadvantages:

• Lack of benefits.
• Lack of communication.
• Unpredictable income.

Benefits of office work:

• Provision of benefits, health insurance, paid vacation and pension contributions.
• stability and predictability.

Disadvantages of office work:

• Fixed hours and lack of flexibility.
• Limitation of autonomy.
• Complete loss of income in case of dismissal.

As you can see, there are good and bad points in both options, so it's impossible to say that one is better than the other. It depends entirely on your personality and what you want out of your career. The next step is to decide which path is right for you.