Suggestions that could help to achieve a better work environment for freelancers

[dbareiro]

Hi!

Next I would like to share some suggestions that I think it could be nice take into consideration as they could contribute to having a more comfortable workspace for freelancers.

Sometimes the client is not sure of what they want or simply writes a project description that is not exhaustive enough. I have seen many descriptions without content and that end up saying "more information when applying".

It could be nice that a freelancer can contact a client to talk with her/him before applying. In fact, I have seen some clients who ask to talk with him/her before applying thinking that Upwork gives this possibility. But it is not the case.

On the other hand, it could be nice to send the client a friendly reminder of the expiration date of their project, kindly asking them to cancel the project if they think they will not hire someone in that time frame since otherwise it could harm the freelancer who could use those connects in other projects that could be successful. It would be a respectful way to ask the client for some consideration with freelancers if s/he has already decided not to hire someone. The proposal of this course of action is a consequence of that Upwork does not make a refund of the connects in case a freelancer withdraws a proposal. If Upwork would make a refund of the connects in this situation, it might not be necessary to make the proposal about this point.

Through this dialogue space, I would like to know what the Upwork community thinks about these ideas.

Thanks.

Kind regards,

Daniel

[mtngigi]

If you'll simply do a search in the forums, you will find many threads about why the ability to contact a client is never going to happen. Nor will your connects be refunded except for a few instances. There are many thread on that as well.

[prestonhunter]

Daniel:

Your suggestions make it seem like you think freelancers are Upwork's customers.

Clients are Upwork's customers.

Upwork earns its money by extracting money from the credit cards or PayPal accounts of clients who post jobs and hire freelancers on Upwork.

So although Upwork wants to make its "partners" in earning money (the freelancers) as happy as possible... if a particular policy will make freelancers "comfortable" at the expense of the client's user experience, Upwork will go with what makes the client happy.

Which works for me (as a freelancer) because the happier clients are, the more they will use Upwork, and the more money I can earn.

Because I already know how to use Upwork, I'm more interested in it being profitable for me. And if that means putting up with some things that are inconvenient for freelancers, that's okay.