Okay, there are no cold hard facts to back this last one up but we probably still think it’s true, especially if your life has less office politics, a better work life balance and you generally enjoy your work more.

According to over 1,000 contractors who completed SJD’s biannual contractor survey, 82{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} of Limited company contractors said their work life/personal life balance was either better (57{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) or hadn’t changed (25{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e}) since becoming a contractor. Over 77{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} said they found being a contractor more satisfying than being an employee with less than 10{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} saying they would go back to permanent employment if an offer was made available. 50{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} said they might consider going back to permanent work depending upon what was being offered.

The above confirms why so many people stay in contracting, with over 88{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} surveyed classing themselves as a ‘committed contractor’. Other areas cited about what they enjoy about contracting included: 84{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} enjoying higher rates of pay, 70{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} the flexibility contracting offered, 65{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} greater freedom and just over a third said being viewed as an industry expert.

Results also concluded that in spite of a struggling economy, over 91{6060b2de664e4eaa3e7b7e86961ce2c4bbd7a29b6c1097abf8257a4e5b07383e} answered ‘Yes’ to earning more as a contractor than they were as an employee, contractors can work out approximate take home pay rates by using SJD’s contractor calculator.

This is just a small snapshot of the results received from this bi-annual contractor attitude survey circulated to SJD Accountancy’s 11,000 + strong database. A full breakdown of the survey results can be found at:

http://www.sjdaccountancy.com/news/contractor_attitude_survey_results.html

With over 1,000 clients completing the survey, the results offer a fair idea as to the views, attitudes and opinions of contractors, freelancers, interims, consultants and small to medium sized businesses in the current market.

With companies such as Amazon recently reporting 2,000 new job opportunities in the next two years, with an additional 3,000 roles to be created specifically for contractors during the Christmas period, it shows that contractors are still very much at the forefront of most companies recruitment needs.