Do you feel supported or know where to get support?
We asked our respondents whether they feel adequate support for their mental health, or know where to find support for their mental health.
This is a key question we’ve asked every year in our research, to track whether the mental health landscape is improving for freelancers.
Almost three-quarters (71%) of our group do not feel they have adequate support for their mental health within the context of work.
This number is higher than in previous years (63% in 2022, 67% in 2021, 68% in 2020, 60% in 2019).
Those who who have joined self-employment in the last two years are 10% more likely to feel they have adequate support for their mental health within the context of work - which might suggest those new to freelancing are more invested in their mental health.
A similar number to those who didn’t feel they had adequate support for their mental health within the context of work, 70% of our group do not feel like they know where they’d be able to get support for their mental health at work.
The number for new freelancers is not significantly different to the overall number of individuals who aren’t sure where to find support.
This is still a significantly high number, and has been roughly consistent since our first study in 2019.
Positively, 68% of our group felt generally supported by their peers in self-employment during 2024. This shows the positive impact of community and support networks on mental health.
ALmost 40% of our group felt unsupported by their clients in self-employment during 2024 - and only 15% felt well supported by their clients.
As we can see a direct relationship between poorer mental health and the ability to work and be productive - supporting freelancers to work well is in everyone’s interest.
We’d love to see more clients offering support and signposting to their freelancers, to support their positive mental health and productivity.
Around 82% of freelancers did not feel supported by the government in self-employment during 2024 - which is a significant number of individuals who feel let down and lacking in support.
We’d love to see more explicit support for self-employed workers in the UK, and in particular policy changes which recognise the unique challenges of self-employment.
90% of our group felt isolated, disconnected or lonely as a self-employed professional during 2024.
Only 10% didn’t feel, at some point, this way.
This is a hugely significant number.
Based upon British Red Cross data, around 10-11% of people in the workforce report feeling lonely at work often or always.
For the self-employed, based upon our data - this number of almost three times higher.
