One Third Of US Workers Say They're "Free Agents," Not Tied To Just One Boss

More and more U.S. workers don't want to work for the "Man" anymore and be tied up to just one boss as they consider themselves "free agents."

In a report by CNN Money, 31% of workers in the US consider themselves "free agents," according to a survey from Kelly Services, a recruiting and employment firm. These "free agents" consider themselves contractors, small business owners, temps, freelancers, and moonlighters, but never "traditional employees." This means, they don't get their income from just one boss. Most of these free agents said they entered their type of work willingly, and only 10% said they were forced into it due to economic conditions.

According to the survey, free agents are more satisfied with their work than the traditional workers in almost every aspect of their lives, including work-life balance, advancement opportunities, skills developments, and work overall.

According to a report by NewsWeek, free agents has the capacity to earn twice as much as what they can as a traditional worker. One of the major downside of working as a freelancer is you can never be certain when you will earn your money. The ups and downs of demands, sudden changes in consumer needs, injury, or sickness, can easily affect when you will earn next.

Kelly Services has been researching in the free agent workforce for more than 10 years. Its first global survey, The Kelly Services 2015 Free Agent Survey, gathered views from some 5,200 workers from the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The percentage of free agents is constant across these regions, which is at 31% in the US, 27% in Europe, and 34% in the Asia-Pacific.

Global Talent Solutions for Kelly Services senior vice president and general manager Teresa Carroll said, "In 2011, conditions in the U.S. drove free agency to 44 percent as more workers were compelled to consider free agency based on economic necessity."

"As expected, the percentage of free agents in the U.S. has leveled off since the recovery, though at a higher level than before the recession," said Carroll.