How free can a freelance be?

Many people choose to switch from permanent to freelance work because it will improve their income. Others decide to downshift or have had enough of commuting. Getting out is the easy part. While establishing a new business takes time, most self-starters enjoy an increased sense of job satisfaction as a result of going solo. But what happens when you have had enough of self-employment?

Returning to "real" work can be a shock. When freelance computer trainer Joanna Dicks moved to a new area she left behind her reputation and a healthy client base. Rather than start again, knowing that it would take at least a year to establish herself, she took a job managing a computer training department for a recruitment agency.

"I had forgotten all my skills of diplomacy, and found discussing problems and strategies with my new boss difficult. I resented having to "ask permission" before making a decision and took criticism badly. I'm afraid I had become too used to being in charge," she explains. "My teamwork skills had disappeared."

After 18 months Ms Dicks chose to return to freelance work, where she has remained for eight years.

Ann Zinkin, director of Aztech Computer Recruitment, puts forward a valid case for freelances going back to the office. "Contractors may avoid office politics and stagnation at work, but they can also miss out on valuable training and interaction skills," she says.

Patrick Gosling is an international motorcycle racing photographer who is currently self-employed. He has opted for permanent work twice during his 17-year career, each time to perfect his craft, increase his reputation and make valuable contacts. "It was refreshing to be able to let someone else make the bookings, buy supplies and do the invoices," he says. "But after a while I lost motivation, felt unproductive and resented lining someone else's pockets. Working for myself I have the worst boss in the world - myself - and I find having no-one to blame but me is less stressful. Going freelance after a period of stability has put me in a better position to make a success of it."

Nothing is guaranteed when you work for yourself. Contract work opportunities can fluctuate. It is worth keeping up to date with technical and communication skills just in case you have to go back to full-time work. "Right now, Y2K specialists have lots of work, but many companies tend not to be initiating new projects or taking on new contractors until they are safely into the millennium," says Ms Zinkin.

Personnel Consultant Jill Kilby says that it is not the employers who have a problem employing the freelances full-time, but the freelance who cannot settle.

Susan Ball is a public relations consultant who left full-time employment in central London two years ago for a freelance life in the country. She recently had a taste of her old life and returned to an office environment on a short term contract. "The noise was deafening," she said. "Every time the lift doors opened and closed I felt compelled to look up. I found it hard to concentrate with so much chatter going on around me and it took almost a day to become productive."

Owing to her experience in the aerospace industry, Jill Kilby is accustomed to employing contract workers, who manage to strike a workable balance between retaining flexibility and freedom while commanding high salaries. "It is taken for granted that many contract engineers are mavericks and we accept that. We are happy to consider contractors or freelances for permanent employment, and while they find it difficult to move back into a rigid structure, many who do return to permanent work remain for three to five years," she says.