A Crack in the Mirror of Freedom

For over a decade, freelancing in the Netherlands has been painted as a path to liberation. You were your own boss. You set your own rates. You worked from beach cafés, not boardrooms. It was autonomy, scaled and sold.

But freedom is never free—it demands structure. And when the scaffolding is weak, even the lightest pressure reveals the fault lines.

According to new data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), we’ve reached such a moment. For the first time since 2013, the number of freelancers in the Netherlands has declined. Quietly, but meaningfully. And beneath the surface lies not a fluke, but a systemic recalibration.

Let’s walk through it, not with panic—but with precision.

The Numbers: A Silent Exodus

Source: CBS, 6 May 2025

It’s not just about quantity. It’s about what kind of independence is eroding—and what type of dependency is replacing it.

What the Data Really Tells Us

Think of this shift not as a collapse, but as a tide pulling back. When it does, the riverbed is exposed. We see who was structurally sound, and who was surviving on the illusion of freedom.

What looked like choice was often constraint. What felt like entrepreneurship was frequently vulnerability wrapped in autonomy’s clothing.

1. Regulation Isn’t the Villain—It’s the Mirror

The Dutch government has stepped up enforcement against false self-employment. Rightfully so. Too many companies had offloaded risk onto “contractors” who, in practice, worked full-time, took orders, and had no other clients.

This isn’t overreach. It’s overdue.

In systems thinking, when reality contradicts policy, it’s the policy that must adapt—until reality adjusts. That adjustment is happening now.

And for some freelancers, it means reclassification. For others, retreat.

2. From “Independent” to “Invisible”

Of the 28,000 who left freelancing, the majority didn’t find stable footing. Many slipped into flex contracts—temporary jobs, zero-hour arrangements, payroll positions with little security.

Only 6,000 transitioned to permanent employment.

This isn’t evolution. It’s dilution. A transformation not into something better—but into something less visible, less protected, and less empowered.

What we’re seeing is not a reallocation of talent, but the quiet loss of structural position.

3. The Sectors Where the Shift Hurts Most

Take healthcare: a sector where freelancers once sought more flexibility, better rates, and relief from bureaucracy. And yet, thousands are exiting. Not because the work is gone—but because the structure no longer protects the role.

So What Should We Learn?

This is not a crisis. It’s a reflection. And like any good reflection, it tells us more about what we didn’t want to see.

For Entrepreneurs and Freelancers:

• Autonomy is not the absence of rules—it’s the ability to set your own within a system that respects them.
• Freelancing without legal clarity, digital traceability, and financial structure is no longer viable. It’s exposure, not entrepreneurship.

For Policymakers:

• Regulation must be specific, not sweeping. We must distinguish between the legitimate solo operator and the disguised employee.
• Support is not only about enforcement—it’s about creating legal scaffolding for real independence.

For GRC Professionals:

• Freelancers must be treated not as shadows on the payroll, but as active components of organizational risk. They carry data, represent your name, and impact your compliance profile.
• Screening, integrity checking, onboarding logic—what we apply to vendors and staff must apply here too.

The Myth of “Being Your Own Boss”

The phrase has charm. It whispers empowerment. But governance teaches us that power without structure is a myth, and freedom without responsibility is theater.

The decline in freelancers isn’t a negative trend. It’s a sobering wake-up call. It reminds us that if we want independence to survive, it must be supported—not just celebrated.

Structure is not the opposite of freedom. It is its precondition.