If you are fed up with the stagnation of everyday life, you are not alone. Forbes has found that over half of Americans are unhappy in their jobs, with the number only likely to increase as the world tries to return to normal after the COVID-19 lockdowns.
During the pandemic, many were keen to make the most of their newfound freedom, finding themselves needing to enjoy life rather than just putting up with a miserable job. The way that the face of work changed for many may also have attributed to this attitude shift, with people now used to working more remotely and thus having more say over their working hours.
If you are keen to maintain a better work-life balance that many people now enjoy as a result of the pandemic-born, newly accepted working styles and schedules, then locum work and the benefits that come with it may be the answer.
Pick your Schedule
As a locum pharmacist, you are in complete charge of your work schedule. Whether you have appointments to attend or you want to spend more time with your family, undertaking locum work gives you the space to do this rather than canceling those other completely valid claims on your time.
In fact, locum work creates the exact opposite for you, as you can dictate the hours you want to work instead of letting the job dictate your life. Studies have even shown that this method of work increases productivity, too!
Better Rate of Pay
Most freelance roles will give you the right to set your own hourly rate. Your hourly pay will often be at a premium in comparison to a salaried position, which tends to be less. As a locum pharmacist, you will be offering to fill in urgently needed services, as and such should be reasonably renumerated for your time and experience.
Sites like Workflare are growing in popularity with the rise in freelancers and are useful for locum workers to find companies that suit their hourly freelance rates, lessening the time and effort needed to find appropriate jobs. Although you may need to strike a compromise with some companies, the essence of being a locum and thus self-employed means that the final decision still rests with you.
Gain More Experience
Speaking of experience, becoming a locum pharmacist means that you can build up a large portfolio of work as evidence to use in furthering your career. Working in several different settings may also give you a greater insight into ways the pharmacy profession can flow into other streams.
Exploring your options in this way will allow you to temporarily ‘try out’ new professional avenues instead of committing first, letting you see what routes and branches of your sector suit you best before making any financial or time-consuming sacrifices to study further.
Diverse Work Environments
One of the biggest problems in many workplaces is that it can become tedious when spending most of the week in the same place and with the same people. However, becoming a locum pharmacist gives you the ability to work in a broad range of environments and establishments with many different people, meaning that you will not become frustrated with the monotony of a traditional role.
Final Thoughts
Above are just some of the fantastic ways that working as a locum pharmacist can improve your professional and personal life. Allowing yourself to take that step to more freedom both financially and in terms of your schedule will open you up to enjoying a greater work-life balance with less stress and potentially more money.