If you work for yourself, could you ever be employed again?

[DieDreiHexen]

I'm self employed, running a small professional practice. Prior to that, I was happily employed by a large public sector organisation, and then not happily employed by the same organisation , struggling with endless rules, meetings and admin and poor pay. I left when I was told I could not apply for a promotion unless I went full time (while navigating life with three kids, including a visually impaired toddler.)

Today I've visited a client. This afternoon was set aside for admin but it's glorious outside, so I'm taking my daughter pony out for a ride. Then when DS gets home we might head out for a swim. I'll catch up with the admin tomorrow. I've taken two calls, one from a client with an interesting piece of work I'll follow up, another from a client who sounded like a demanding nightmare who I can say 'no thanks' to. I also booked to attend a conference, paid for with my little company's money and I didn't have to ask anyone or fill in a single form to be able to go. I've got two weeks off for half term soon, and am looking forward to hanging out with my teens.

I miss the public sector pension, the paid leave and sick pay. I miss many of the brilliant projects and colleagues I met along the way. And I don't enjoy doing my accounts, dealing with professional registrations, changes in legislation etc. I always intended to rejoin the public sector when my kids were older. But having been self employed, with so much freedom I think I'd last about ten minutes and have rendered myself unmanageable.

Anyone else in a similar boat?

I don't think I'd be employable because my skills/work are very narrow and almost everyone only uses freelancers for them. Any wider/office-job skills I may once have had have definitely atrophied!
I do not miss the enforced group fun, the vibes if you don't go to the pub with everyone, the office politics and all the other nonsense.

However, I would sort of like a proper job again; I'm pushing 50 with no significant assets or savings and am thinking increasingly longingly about pension, sick pay, paid holidays etc.
My work/life balance isn't especially good as living costs are high and my work simply isn't that well-paid, and I work to deadlines, so it's not a simple case of 'as long as the work gets done'. I haven't had more than two days off in a row since Xmas 2023.
Although I am usually able to take a couple of hours off in the daytime for gym sessions, haircuts etc, and sometimes (deadlines depending) juggle days so I can go out for a day in the week and then work a Sunday instead.

So I guess it's swings and roundabouts. But my takeaway and current strongest feeling is that I do miss the greater financial benefits of salaried work.

I was self employed for a decade. I am now employed in the public sector and I wouldn't go back to SE. For the same reasons as a previous poster pretty much. Chasing invoices, self assessments. I do have a very nice WLB though. Flexitime, I manage my own calendar. Oh, and the pension.

Some interesting comments about being told when we can and can't take time, yes agree to a point because we only have a finite number of days to play with so we can't be off whenever we feel like it, but in my nearly 20 year career with different companies I have never 1) been asked why I want time off and 2) been denied time off.
My company doesn't clock watch at any level, there is trust and empowerment, also no forced fun and no expectation to go to the pub or socialise. Being employed is not all bad...

I went from self employment into employment with one of my clients! I already knew them inside out. Great holidays, genuine flexibility, work from home. They are committed to work life balance and making sure that we support each other to do the personal stuff.

I wouldn’t have gone back for just anyone!

I would have said exactly the same about never going back and being unemployable a year or even less ago, but I saw a public sector job that just seemed meant for me, and I love it. It's flexible, I have colleagues, I have things that I'm responsible for and can see through rather than dipping in and out of organisations, I walk out the door (if I'm not working at home already) at 4pm and don't think about it again until the next day. I have time and energy to do things in the evenings.

I was self employed for 15 years and it has had got miserable, starting with being fucked over and being one of the 3m excluded during Covid, to work being chaotic and constantly moving with long days and working weekends then nothing, or goalposts constantly moving, not to mention having to chase for an invoice for 4 months. It was also mostly online since Covid and I was sick of only looking at a screen for hours. Plus now I have a regular and decent salary and pension contribution.

There are downsides of course, I do miss the flexibility, but it also has flexibility that being self-employed didn't have, such as having colleagues to cover if I need time off. Overall the quality of my life is massively improved. But then some of those reasons are very personal and may not be priorities for others, but just because you've been SE doesn't mean you can't fit back in again for the right job and organisation.