It seems that greater numbers of people are deciding that working for themselves may be a better option. Now there could be many reasons why individuals are deciding to take the risk of setting up in business for themselves.

But is working for yourself that much riskier these days than working for a large organisation?

Given the current economic situation, jobs are no longer secure and redundancy is common place. Job security is much reduced. Even roles within the public sector which had previously seemed a safe bet are now being cut.

However, this is not just due to the recession. Many firms have been undertaking cost saving exercises before the recession started in order to keep abreast of the competition. Pressure to make profits ranks higher than any social concerns about looking after employees.

Loyalty also seems a thing of the past, on both sides of the fence. Once, many organisations offered a job for life, but no longer. Employers want the best people around and won’t carry anyone that is not performing. Likewise, expectations from employees about their developmental career path is high, especially with the younger generation and if they cannot see clear opportunities they will soon move on.

Also, many of the financial benefits associated with employment such as bonuses and pension provisions are being eroded.  The investment risk within pensions is now transferring from employer to employee as we are seeing the demise of final salary schemes.

With increasing pressure to work longer hours as well as the factors referred to above, many are deciding that there is less of a benefit to work for someone else. The gains in time and flexibility over lifestyle management, often outweighs the risk of any reduced income which is likely, especially in the early years of a start up. Furthermore, being free to make the decisions about their work life gives them a greater sense of comfort and security then being at the mercy of someone else’s decisions.

We may now be witnessing a much longer term trend of freelance and self-employed working too, allowing individuals to maintain control over their work life and sub-contract back to larger organisations. The advantage for an employer is scalability of numbers depending on demand without high costs of redundancy and subsequent employment. For individuals it means that they can find more than one organisation to work for so that they are not totally dependent on one employer and, if work ceases, they can still have some form of income.

Clearly, this will be a slow transition and only time will tell if this is a trend or merely a reaction to the current economic climate. However, here is no doubting that more and more people are deciding that the risk of working for themselves is certainly not as great as it used to be.

Here are a few benefits:

Having a good laugh works out our muscles causing them to contract and can be the equivalent of 10-15 minutes on a rowing machine or exercise bike.

It reduces you blood pressure by increasing the amount of oxygen in your blood and assisting natural healing processes.

Laughter increases the number of B-cells which destroy disease as well as balances the immune system.

It also reduces the level of stress hormones by providing a harmless way of releasing negative emotions such as anger, hostility and fear that arise from the “fight or flight” mode.

So get out into the sunshine and have a good laugh this summer.

You rush around trying to squeeze in as many jobs as possible to meet a self imposed deadline. As your final day in the office draws closer it may be frantic but you find yourself getting more and more focused.

You find yourself making better decisions about what is important and what isn’t.
You are prepared to delegate more or bat things away and not add more to your workload.
You decide to actually ditch a few jobs.
And you work more on the basis of getting things 80% right rather than aiming for perfection.

It’s amazing how much you can get done when you really do have to be away from the office.

So why do you work in this way when you know you won’t be around for a few weeks yet don’t do it the rest of the year?

If we allow it to, work will always expand to fill the time available. The only thing that changes is your perception and attitude.

So this time around have a good rest and come back with a changed attitude as well as a suntan.

In the business world you may have a half yearly review to check where you are, but often this is a cursory review. Nevertheless, by going through the process you still stop and think about where you are and what needs to happen for the rest of the year.

But do you do that in your personal life? Are you considering where you are in terms of your aims in life? Or have you given up on them this year?

Too often people get caught up in the “busyness” of life and drop their focus on their goals. This is a shame. If you keep putting off what you really want from life, what sort of life will it be?

Don’t lessen your dreams to fit in with your life. Up your effort to meet your dreams.

So what action needs to take place right now to get you back on track? And what will you do about it?

However, looking at the football professionals on your screens, why not take a leaf out of their books and take the opportunity to up your exercise regime, eat more healthily and increase your energy.

Whilst away in South Africa Fabio Capello has got his team all sitting down to dinner together with no one leaving before everyone is ready to go. So why not encourage your family to eat together (even if it is whilst watching the footie…well it’s a start!)

Think about the food you are putting into your body. Are you treating it as a high tuned engine and using the best fuel? Or are you filling it up with low grade fuel which will cause wear and tear and lead to poor performance? It is easy to find healthy alternatives to snack on and healthy food doesn’t have to be boring or take a long time to prepare.

By all means have a drink but just watch how much you are consuming. Try alternating an alcoholic drink with a glass of water or fresh juice.

Invite a few friends round. Social interaction lifts our spirits, increases our energy and helps build our immune system.

… and why not take advantage of the longer days and have kick about in the local park to burn off some of those calories and have some fun. All you need is a football and jumpers for goalposts!