NEW YORK(Reuters) – The crisis posed by COVID-19 is worrisome enough for full-time employees. Imagine life as a freelancer.
FILE PHOTO: A women sits alone on a park bench watching the sky after sun set in Encinitas, California, U.S. October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Your income can vary wildly from month to month and is likely being cut back as companies shave costs. Your check may come in the mail, or it may not. Your healthcare is expensive, or you may not even be able to afford it – which makes you even more terrified of the coronavirus.
What amplifies the impact is that so much of society consists of independent workers and contractors. The gig economy now comprises 36% of the American workforce, people who undertake it some or all of the time, according to a recent Gallup poll.
It’s a “perfect storm of awfulness,” according to Kat Kinsman, author of “Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves,” about her mental-health challenges, and a freelancer for much of her…
