The impact of the coronavirus crisis on freelancers’ mental health

For freelancers and the self-employed, coronavirus has been not only a health crisis, but also an income crisis. We can now see that this and the other circumstances of the lockdown have drastically undermined freelancers’ mental health. A quarter of them say they now have “poor” or “very poor” mental health – more than a 300 per cent increase since before the pandemic.

Historically, many people have chosen self-employment as a means to fit their work around existing mental health issues and other disabilities. Before the pandemic, two-thirds (68%) said they had “good” or “excellent” mental health, however because of the coronavirus crisis, this fell by 43 per cent to just over a third (39%). This was most severe among women (a drop of 54%) and young freelancers aged 16-34 (a drop of 49%).

The rise in mental health problems seems to be driven by high job-related stress levels during the pandemic. 32 per cent of freelancers said they were highly stressed. In fact, when rating their level of job-related stress from one to ten, 10 per cent selected the highest possible rating.

This surge in stress is having a serious negative impact on freelancers. As a result of job-related stress almost half said they felt less productive (48%), depressed or anxious (48%) or lost sleep over worry (47%). 46 per cent of more stressed freelancers also said they had felt a reduction in their confidence or energy. Just over a fifth (22%) said they had even lost clients because of job-related stress.

The coronavirus pandemic has significantly undermined the mental health of many freelancers, but there were also pressures on their mental health before lockdown. The vast majority of freelancers (80%) said that moving into self-employment had a positive impact on their mental health. The top reasons for this, according to freelancers, were escaping office politics (70%), increased flexibility (70%), being their own boss (69%) and having more control over their work (67%).

Freelancers find there are many challenges that affect their mental health. Over half (53%) said trying to find work had a negative impact on their mental health. Half also said that irregularity of income was a challenge for their mental health. Other aspects of self-employment that freelancers felt had a negative impact on their mental health included the ‘blurring of boundaries being work and homelife’ (32%), ‘not having access to statutory employment benefits’ (29%) and ‘working long hours/tight deadlines’ (28%).

Whether challenges arose from coronavirus or the circumstances of self-employment, freelancers said they had a range of coping mechanisms to maintain their mental health. Two-thirds of freelancers (67%) said they made time to exercise to maintain their mental health, while half also said they make sure they get enough sleep and make time for hobbies and entertainment to support their mental health. 49 per cent also said they try to maintain a healthy diet to boost their mental health.

One thing few freelancers seem to be doing to maintain or improve their health is seeking advice. Just 17 per cent said they had accessed support for their mental health, including:  information and advice online (12%), counselling/therapy sessions (7%) or mental health helplines (1%) during the pandemic.

When asked what they would find useful to improve their mental health, the most popular answers were to do with interacting with others: ‘coaching and mentoring’ (23%), ‘connecting with others in similar situations’ (22%) and ‘co-working opportunities’ (22%).

Building on these answers, there are a range of recommendations for government and industry at the end of this report.

The number of people in the UK suffering from mental health issues has been increasing in recent years.[1] According to data from Mind, approximately one in four adults in the UK experience a mental health problem each year, while one in six report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.[2]

Mental health varies by the individual and over time, poor mental health can be caused by personal health and work factors.[3] In terms of work factors, the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) suggests that there is a higher risk for mental health problems in roles that require high job demand and provide low job security, which could be among the defining characteristics for the self-employed. However, the research also finds that jobs that allow for more control, also a defining feature of self-employment, are better suited to people who have a history of poor mental health.

IPSE’s own research shows freelancers are on the whole very happy in self-employment[4] and it can provide opportunities for people to be more flexible and manage their mental health issues - as well as other disabilities - around their work life.[5]

However, self-employment is not without its challenges and many self-employed people report dealing with difficulties to do with irregular income (60%), struggling to save for retirement (56%) and late payments (46%).[6] We know, from previous research conducted in 2018, that financial worries and mental health are very much interlinked - half (51%) of those surveyed said they felt anxious or stressed as a result of financial worries. A third of respondents also stated that worrying about their financial situation had caused them to lose sleep (34%) and experience a lack of confidence (33%).[7]

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China in December 2019 and resulted in a UK nationwide lockdown in March 2020, continues to have a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of the whole of the country. The worries and fears associated with the pandemic and the isolation and loneliness that can come with being locked down and confined to one’s home have been felt by many. Government data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey conducted at the end of May revealed that two-thirds of UK adults (69%) were somewhat or very worried about the impact that coronavirus was having on their lives. In addition, 44 per cent felt that their wellbeing was being affected and a quarter of adults felt lonely at least some of the time.[8]

The UK government introduced a range of support packages for businesses and employees through the lockdown period, including the furlough scheme, which has seen over 9.6 million jobs furloughed.[9] The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which supports employers to furlough staff by guaranteeing 80 per cent of their wages up to £2,500 each month, enabled businesses to continue to pay and retain their employees despite periods with little or no demand for their products and/or services.

The government also introduced a number of measures to support the self-employed throughout the pandemic, including the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the postponement of changes to IR35 regulations, bounce back loans and a relaxation of the eligibility criteria to access Universal Credit.

However, these support measures were not accessible to all. The SEISS, which initially provided the self-employed with a taxable grant based on 80 per cent of their average monthly profits to a maximum of £2,500 per month, came with rigid eligibility criteria. These criteria prevented the newly self-employed or those with annual profits of more than £50,000 from accessing the scheme. It is also estimated that at least 710,000 directors of limited companies have been left with little or no support throughout the crisis as they aren’t eligible for SEISS and cannot make full use of the CJRS as this only covers their PAYE income and not any earnings from company dividends.

The pandemic and gaps in support are already having a devastating impact on the self-employed sector, with research showing that three-quarters of freelancers (74%) have lost income because of the coronavirus outbreak and their income has dropped by on average 76 per cent. There has also been an increase in the number of freelancers who are concerned about their cashflow with 69 per cent stating that they are currently concerned, up from just eight per cent before the pandemic began.

One in five also expect to have to close their businesses as a result of the coronavirus crisis.[10] In fact, ONS data reveals that this is already happening, with the estimates from March to May 2020 showing that the number of self-employed people in the UK dropped by 178,000 from the previous quarter and by 105,000 compared to the same time last year.[11]

Not only is the situation affecting self-employed people’s businesses and income levels, it is also having an impact on their mental health and stress levels. From previous research with the University of Edinburgh Business School we know that the stress levels of freelancers have increased by 80 per cent since the coronavirus outbreak and the average stress rating now stands at 7.2/10, where ten is extremely stressed.

In order to understand more about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the mental wellbeing of freelancers, IPSE conducted a bespoke piece of research at the end of June 2020. The findings of the research are outlined in the following report which looks at how self-employment itself affects mental health, how the mental health of freelancers has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, what measures have been taken to maintain positive mental health and what more freelancers need to support their mental health. The report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at organisations and government to help further support freelancers and their mental health both in general and specifically in times of crisis.

Before exploring how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted freelancers’ mental health and wellbeing, the research first sought to examine how the transition to self-employment itself had affected their mental health.

Overall, 80 per cent of freelancers felt that moving to self-employment had at least a somewhat positive impact on their mental health. In fact, almost half of freelancers (48%) stated that transitioning to self-employment had a very positive effect on their mental health with a further third (32%) stating it had an at least somewhat positive effect. However, there were seven per cent who said that transitioning to self-employment had had a negative impact on their mental health.

There were few significant differences between the different demographic groups, however, those aged 16-34 were the least likely to say that transitioning to self-employment had a positive impact on their mental health (67%) compared to those 35 and over (82%). Younger freelancers were also significantly more likely to say that the transition had had a negative impact on their mental health (16%) compared to those 35 and over (5%).

This reinforces previous research which showed that 60 per cent of younger freelancers had found self-employment more challenging than they had expected, compared to the average of 43 per cent. Younger freelancers also rated their happiness in self-employment as lower than the overall sector with only 66 per cent rating their happiness as seven out of ten or higher compared to an average of 77 per cent across all age groups.[12]

The evidence suggests that younger freelancers on average earn less, compared to older freelancers, as they are nearer the beginning of their careers and they are much more likely to state that they experience worries about their financial circumstances most or all of the time (50%) compared to older freelancers (20% of those aged 55 or over).[13] This could explain the difference in happiness ratings between various age groups.

Sole traders were also significantly less likely to say that the transition to self-employment had a positive impact on their mental health (73%) and more likely to say that it had had a negative impact (11%) compared to limited company directors (83% positive impact and 4% negative impact).

To understand why such a high proportion of freelancers felt that the move to self-employment had a positive impact on their mental health, respondents were asked which elements of self-employment contributed to this.

Similar to previous research into why people became self-employed, flexibility (70%), being their own boss (69%) and having control over their work (67%) were some of the top answers. However, ‘not having to deal with bureaucracy and office politics’ was rated as the joint top aspect of self-employment that had a positive impact on freelancers’ mental health (70%).

Looking at the differences between genders, earning more money was significantly more likely to have had a positive effect on men (60%) compared to women (32%). Women on the other hand were significantly more likely than men to say that the freedom to choose where to work (73% compared to 62%), having greater control of working hours (69% compared to 53%) and being able to pursue a passion/ be creative (51% compared to 34%) had a positive impact on their mental health.[14]

These gender differences are in line with previous research that showed that women are more likely to value elements such as being able to choose where and when to work and having a better work-life balance. This is in contrast to men who were more likely to say that they value career-related elements of self-employment such as being in control of their work, being able to do a greater variety of work and having the opportunity to earn more money.

Younger freelancers (57%) were also significantly more likely than those over 35 (37%) to say that being able to pursue a passion/be creative had a positive impact on their mental health. This trend was also seen when looking at business structure with sole traders (61%) significantly more likely than limited company directors (29%) to say that pursuing a passion/being more creative had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing.

As previous reports have shown, self-employment is not without its challenges. Just over half of respondents (53%) stated that finding work had had a negative impact on their mental health and half also struggle with the irregularity of income that comes with self-employment.

Other aspects of self-employment that freelancers felt had a negative impact on their mental health included the ‘blurring of boundaries between work and homelife’ (32%), ‘not having access to statutory employment benefits’ (29%) and ‘working long hours/tight deadlines’ (28%).

Other financial challenges such as late payment (26%) and managing finances (25%) also had a negative impact on a quarter of freelancers.

Similar to previous research which found that one in five freelancers felt lonely as a result of remote working[15], ‘feeling lonely and isolated’ had a negative impact on the mental health of close to a quarter of freelancers (24%).

For almost all of the negative effects of self-employment tested, women were significantly more likely than men to have experienced them. The most pronounced difference was seen for ‘irregularity of income’ with 64 per cent of women saying it had negatively impacted their mental health compared to 43 per cent of men.

Similarly, sole traders were significantly more likely to have experienced most of the negative effects of self-employment compared to limited company directors. Again, the biggest difference was seen for irregularity of income with 71 per cent of sole traders stating that it had negatively impacted their mental health compared to 40 per cent of limited company directors. Sole directors were however significantly less likely to have experienced the negative effects of ‘administrative tasks’ compared to limited company directors (16% and 26% respectively). This is in line with previous IPSE research, which found that limited company directors are more likely to have spent larger amounts of time than sole traders on administrative tasks such as reporting, paying and reclaiming VAT, chasing late payments and completing their annual tax return.[16]

Respondents reporting higher levels of job-related stress were more likely to select each of the negative effects of self-employment compared to those with lower levels of job-related stress. For those reporting high job-related stress, 64 per cent stated that finding work had a negative impact on mental health, compared to 32 per cent of those reporting low job-related stress.

Only nine per cent had not experienced any of the negative aspects of self-employment that were covered in the research.

Given the high levels of job-related stress in self-employment, the research aimed to uncover the impact that this stress was having on freelancers. As a result of job-related stress almost half had felt less productive (48%), depressed or anxious (48%) or lost sleep over worry (47%). There were also 46 per cent of respondents who had experienced a lack of confidence or reduced energy levels.

This therefore shows that job-related stress can not only have a negative impact on health, but also on the work itself. In fact, just over a fifth (22%) admitted that they had lost clients due to job-related stress. The consequences of stress are also widespread with only 13 per cent stating that they had never experienced any of the issues listed.

Women and younger freelancers were more likely than their counterparts to have experienced issues as a result of job-related stress. For almost every issue, women were more likely than men to state that they had experienced it exclusive of ‘limited time for non-work activities’. ‘Experienced a lack of confidence’ was the most common consequence of job-related stress for women (61%) and significantly higher than for men (38%). Similarly, women were significantly more likely to ‘experience feelings of inadequacy/failure’ than men (52% compared to 29% respectively).

Looking at age, the 16-34 age group were more likely to experience all of the issues, with the exception of ‘losing sleep over worry’, as a result of job-related stress compared to the 35-54 age group, who are in turn more likely to experience almost all of the issues than those aged 55 or more.

For those in the 16-34 age group the top two most experienced issues were ‘a lack of confidence’ and ‘feeling depressed or anxious’ with almost two-thirds (63%) selecting these options. This was followed closely by ‘reduced energy levels’ (62%), ‘feeling less productive’ (61%) and ‘experiencing feelings of inadequacy/failure’ (52%).

Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between the levels of job-related stress and the likelihood of experiencing negative consequences as a result. Those with high levels of stress are significantly more likely to have experienced each one of the negative consequences compared to those with lower levels of job-related stress.

Measures people adopt to take care of their mental health

There are a number of online sources available where people can get advice on how to manage their mental health, especially during the pandemic. These include official government advice, advice from the NHS[25] and advice from charities such as Mind.[26] The advice covered ranges from keeping active and staying connected to setting a routine.

The measures that freelancers are adopting to take care of their mental health are very much in line with this advice. The most popular way to take care of mental health was exercising, with two-thirds (67%) of respondents stating that they made time to do this. This is in line with research and guidance that highlights the positive effects of physical activity on mental health. There was also little difference between the different groups in terms of the proportion who were engaging in physical activity and this was the top measure adopted to take care of mental health for all groups.

Half of the respondents also stated that ‘getting enough sleep’ and ‘spending time on hobbies and entertainment’ were measures they put in place to help manage their mental health. This was followed closely by ‘maintaining a healthy diet’ (49%).

A quarter of respondents also said that they took time off work to care for their mental health which is not always easy for freelancers as shown by previous research.

In a 2019 IPSE report, an overwhelming majority of freelancers reported that taking time off had a positive impact on their wellbeing. However, a quarter of freelancers felt unable to take time off when feeling sick or unwell and freelancers also had to miss personal commitments like holidays, as well as family occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries because of their self-employed work.

The main reasons freelancers felt unable to take time off was because they didn’t want to let their clients down (62%), they were worried about future periods of little or no work (60%) and they didn’t want to lose money when they could be working instead (57%).[27] Therefore, although taking time off can have a positive impact on mental wellbeing, more needs to be done to enable freelancers to do so.

Women were more likely to state that they adopted almost all of the measures to take care for their mental health compared to men, however, their top four measures were the same and in line with the overall population.

The measures that showed the greatest differences between women and men included 'sharing thoughts and feelings with others’ (42% for women and 24% for men), ‘taking time to plan their workload’ (32% for women and 17% for men) and ‘practicing mindfulness/meditation’ (28% for women and 16% for men).

Interestingly younger respondents under 35 were significantly more likely to engage in various other techniques to take care of their mental health than those over 35 including:  ‘sharing thoughts and feelings with others’ (45% compared to 26%), practising mindfulness/meditation’ (30% compared to 19%) and ‘keeping a diary’ (19% compared to 6%).

They were also significantly more likely to ‘socialise with friends and family’ (51% compared to 31%) and ‘take time off work’ (36% compared to 22%).

Therefore, while women and younger freelancers are more likely to experience the negative effects of stress and poor mental health in self-employment, they are also more likely to take care of their mental wellbeing and seek help.

Perhaps one of the most interesting findings is that there were no significant differences in the measures adopted to care for their mental health and the levels of reported job-related stress, apart from for ‘getting enough sleep’. For this measure those with low levels of job-related stress were significantly more likely to state that they got enough sleep to care for their mental health (63%) compared to those with higher levels of stress (50% for those with medium levels of stress and 43% for those with high levels of stress).

Mental health support accessed since the coronavirus pandemic 

Only 17 per cent of respondents had accessed either mental health information and advice online (12%), counselling/therapy sessions (7%) or mental health helplines (1%) since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, despite 26 per cent currently reporting poor mental health.

Women were significantly more likely than men to have accessed mental health information and advice online (18% compared to 8%), counselling/therapy sessions (11% compared to 4%) and mental health helplines (3% compared to 0%).

What more can be done to support freelancers with their mental health?

When asked what mental health support measures they would find useful, the top three measures - with one in five selecting them - were all to do with interacting with others. These included ‘coaching and mentoring’ (23%), ‘connecting with others in similar situations’ (22%) and ‘co-working opportunities’ (22%).

Women were more likely than men to find each of the options useful and this difference was significant for the top three options to do with ‘connecting with others’ (32% compared to 17%), making use of ‘co-working opportunities’ (31% compared to 17%) and taking part in ‘coaching and mentoring’ (30% compared to 19%).

These findings build on previous work which highlighted that some of the key disadvantages of remote working were that it affected their need for human interaction by making freelancers feel lonely (19%), disconnected (19%) and not part of the team (26%) and again, women were more likely than men to have experienced these.[28]

Other things that respondents would find useful to support their mental health included ‘work-related training’ (19%) and ‘financial advice’ (17%). Interestingly, those aged 16-34 were significantly more likely to rate financial advice as a useful tool to help with their mental health, with 31 per cent choosing this option compared to the average of 17 per cent. This makes it the second most useful tool for this age group after ‘coaching and mentoring’ (33%). Similarly, younger freelancers are also significantly more likely to value ‘work-related training’ (30%) compared to the average of the sample (19%).

Almost a third of respondents (32%) didn’t feel that any of the options would be useful to help support their mental health. Men were significantly more likely to state that they wouldn’t find any of the options useful (39%) compared to women (18%).

There was also a significant trend when looking at the age of freelancers, with younger freelancers significantly less likely to say that none of the options would be useful (19%) compared to those aged 35-54 (32%) and those 55 and over (41%).

Conclusions

The coronavirus pandemic has clearly had a devastating impact on the mental wellbeing of freelancers across the UK. With many freelancers struggling with financial issues, job-related stress and a decrease in job satisfaction, something clearly needs to be done to ensure that the wellbeing of this innovative and vibrant sector of the economy is supported.

Freelancers themselves are adopting a range of different measures to look after their mental health including exercising, getting enough sleep and maintaining a healthy diet. There are however, a number of other mental health support measures that freelancers would find useful including opportunities for coaching and mentoring, interacting with others in similar situations and having more opportunities for co-working. Freelancers would also value access to more work-related training to help build their skills, as well as more financial advice to manage their finances.

There are a lot of things that government, industry and organisations such as IPSE can do to support the mental health and wellbeing of freelancers, especially in this difficult time, and these are outlined fully in the recommendations section below.

Recommendations

1. Make COVID self-employment support flexible and fair as we emerge from lockdown

SEISS has been a vital lifeline for over 2.7 million self-employed people. The opening of the second SEISS grant in August 2020 was a welcome relief to the financial and mental health of many freelancers, however IPSE is concerned that the government intends this to be the final iteration of the scheme. While we recognise the SEISS cannot run in perpetuity, it should be unwound carefully – along the same lines as the Job Retention Scheme – to avoid a cliff-edge of financial support and ensure those in hard-hit sectors, such as the creative industries, get help.

As the economy recovers, the government should also look at tweaking the eligibility criteria to give a boost to those groups – principally company directors and the newly self-employed – that were excluded the first-time round. As this report shows, it is those groups – particularly company directors – whose mental health has been hardest hit in the current crisis. Flexibility and fairness are vital if the SEISS has to be revived in some form in a second wave, as a Resolution Foundation report suggests.

2. Provide and advertise mental health support tailored for freelancers

A lot of advice, guidance and support exists around mental health, however many freelancers face unique challenges that their employed colleagues don’t have. For example, having to manage irregular income, finding work on a regular basis, and not having access to statutory benefits or HR support. Any information and support around these areas should also be widely advertised and easy to access: our data shows that despite 26 per cent suffering from poor mental health, only 17 per cent had accessed support related to mental health.

There is a gap in the market for those who don’t have an employer or business network to turn to for support and advice. IPSE is keen to develop a mental health advice hub for freelancers, with tailored information and resources for the self-employed and the challenges they face. We can act as a central point of contact to signpost this, and we will be calling upon mental health charities and government to work with us to develop this resource.

3. Make sure the self-employed can take part in the training and skills revolution

One in five freelancers stated that access to training would help support their mental health. New skills and qualifications open doorways to higher earnings and career progression but the self-employed often struggle to find the time and money to undertake training.

The ability to learn new skills will be vital for many freelancers in the coming months and years, as the economy adjusts to a post-COVID environment. However, the government’s skills and apprenticeships system has traditionally been overly focused on traditional employees and does not account for the training needs of the self-employed. Only 12 per cent of the UK’s solo self-employed have received job-related training in the last three months, compared to 26 per cent of employees.

IPSE believes the government should make training for new skills tax-deductible for the self-employed. This would enable freelancers, particularly in sectors where demand has slowed or disappeared, to gain new skills and adapt their business offer to new markets.

4. Promote co-working spaces and extend the business rate relief that exists for small businesses to workhubs

One in five freelancers stated that they would find the opportunity to use co-working spaces useful for maintaining their mental health. Previous research has shown that co-working spaces can play a significant part in combating isolation and loneliness. This can also lead to increased co-operation among self-employed people and encourage the sharing of ideas and resources.

In a post-Covid environment, once workers are confident they can return to offices and these physical premises have prepared appropriate cleaning and distancing measures, the government should promote co-working opportunities and explore ways to incentivise the establishment of new spaces for this purpose. For example, the business rate relief that already exists for small businesses should be extended to include workhubs.

5. Encourage clients to consider their freelancers’ mental health and adhere to best practice guidance

It is not only government that has a role to play in enabling a positive environment for freelancers – clients and hirers do too. Clients, in both the public and private sectors, can also help support the freelancers that they engage. IPSE is keen to work with companies and organisations that engage flexible workers, and we have set out a checklist of simple criteria to ensure that the freelancers they use are valued and treated fairly in a way that would support their mental health.

IPSE believes clients should:

• Make sure that the freelancers that they take on have access to the networks and communication channels they need to work effectively on and off site
• Ensure that freelancers feel safe working on site and can work remotely if they request to do so and if appropriate
• Communicate regularly with the freelancers they engage with and provide timely feedback
• Ensure that they pay their freelancers in a timely and transparent manner.