Clearview National March 2018 - Issue 196 | Page 8

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SELF-EMPLOYED LEAST STRESSED IN TODAY’S BRITAIN
» » RESEARCH BY AXA BUSINESS
Insurance busts some of the most prevalent
myths about being self-employed in today’s
Britain. According to the survey, part of the
company’s annual Stress Index, those working
for themselves are less stressed, have a better
work-life balance and better mental wellbeing
than everyone else. Pain points did emerge,
however: being on call 24/7 and fluctuating
monthly incomes were the twin bugbears of
self-employed life.
FICTION 1: IT’S MORE STRESSFUL
BEING YOUR OWN BOSS
Seventy-eight per cent of self-employed
people describe themselves as stressed to
some extent. This may seem catastrophically
high, but only when compared to those who
work for someone else where the figure is
nine in ten.
Fewer self-employed people said their
stress came from their work life: 42 per
cent compared to 61 per cent of company
employees. Work for yourself and you are also
three times less likely to say you deal with
‘difficult’ people as part of your daily work.
When work stress does hit the self-
employed, it is less likely to become chronic:
while 11 per cent of workers say they are
stressed all the time, that falls to just two per
cent of those who work for themselves. And
when asked about their overall mental health,
30 per cent of full-time employees said they
had concerns compared to just 11 per cent of
‘own bosses’.
“Running a business is stressful, but the fact
that I’m the one in control, means I feel I can
handle stress better now than when I worked
for someone else.”
FICTION 2: SELF-EMPLOYMENT
IS ALWAYS MORE PRECARIOUS
Half of self-employed people said they
sometimes struggle to pay their bills due to
monthly fluctuations in income. But, this
issue is no longer just a problem for them,
as one in five company employees said the
same, perhaps due to many working on gig
economy contracts for their employers.
Self-employed people are less likely to feel
their income is insecure in the long term. Just
under half said they worry about the stability
of their business: again high, but lower than
the two thirds of employees who worry their
jobs are insecure. Likewise, 83 per cent said
8 » M AR 2018 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
AXA Stress
Index 2017
their work is safe from automation in their
lifetimes, double the number of those who
work for someone e