Leapers 2025 Mental Health in freelancing

Mental heath in freelancing during 2025: Annual Report

Every year, we ask hundreds of independent workers about their mental health - to create a clear picture of the challenges and gaps in support the self-employed face.

In the 6th edition, 1000+ individuals have told us their stories. This report aims to highlight the key insights which policymakers, hirers and community owners should be aware of.

Published: Jan 7, 2026

Contents

  1. Key Findings
  2. Foreword
  3. How are you doing?
  4. Joining self-employment
  5. Impact of self-employment on mental health
  6. Major correlating factors to mental health in self-employment
  7. Thinking about the future
  8. Recommendations
  9. Methodology & Notes

Key Findings

Our report this year is deep - and goes to identify a large number of challenges and gaps - but we've identified eight key findings which are essential to be aware of.

Mental health baselines unchanged, but significant perceived decline in wellbeing for many.

Overall mental health scores in 2025 showed no significant change from 2024 - despite economic challenges. Only 22% of respondents reported "Good" mental health, while 28% reported "Poor" mental health. However, 40% of the group felt their mental health declined during 2025, while only 24% reported an improvement.

Unplanned self-employment is rising sharply — and it carries much higher mental health risk.

Nearly 30% of those recently joining self-employment felt they had little other choice but to become self-employed, and this number has doubled in the last two years. Over 50% of unplanned freelancers reported a decline in their mental health due to self-employment.

Financial uncertainty was one of the biggest drivers of poorer mental health in 2025, and is a systemic factor of self-employment

Around 45% saw their income fall in 2025, over 50% experienced significant periods with no income, and nearly 70% of those say that negatively impacted their mental health, despite irregular income being a systemic feature of self-employment.

Isolation is a widespread and largely hidden problem.

Loneliness among our group of self-employed is around three times higher than the general population, with 19.2% feeling lonely “often or always”, compared to ~7.7% in the wider population. This makes support communities essential, not optional.

Significant numbers of the self-employed aren't sure where to turn for support

Only 21.6% feel they have adequate mental health support in the context of work, and among new freelancers, around 6 in 10 say they do not have adequate support — aligning with the first two years being both the most vulnerable period and when most new businesses fail. 94% of our group reported they do not feel supported by the government.

Rest is vital but often a privilege.

76% of freelancers took less time off than the legal minimum offered to employees, and those taking no time off are over four times less likely to report good mental health than those taking more than employment-equivalent rest. Not all freelancers can afford to take time off from work.

Poor client behaviours causes major impact on mental health

39.3% of our group said they felt disrespected at some point during the year. Ghosting was experienced by almost 50% of our group, 67.5% of freelancers dealt with late payments, and 81.2% of those affected reported it as a direct source of stress.

Low optimism towards 2026, but positive impact for most who join

Career optimism remains low, with only 33% of the group feeling generally positive about self-employment in 2026. Despite the challenges, many individuals see self-employment as a path to better wellbeing, with 54% of respondents reporting that working this way has improved their mental health overall.

Foreword

Emma Jones CBE Small Business Commissioner

"It's important that freelancers know about the help and support available"

This report shines a spotlight on the issues faced by self-employed professionals. I know how lonely it can be when you are working hard to build your own livelihood.

Running a business can be tough at times and it is important that freelancers know about, and feel they can reach out to, the help and support available. Having founded a small business support platform and network before becoming Small Business Commissioner, I have seen the profound and positive impact when freelancers join a community of like-minded peers.

At the Office of the Small Business Commissioner we are committed to playing our part, with a focus on tackling and challenging late payment, so those going into self-employment can realise the full benefits of working for yourself, being rewarding and fulfilling work.
Jonathan Stuart Workplace Partnerships Lead, Mind UK

"We must respond with urgency, understanding and practical support"

When people are working, we expect them to be supported to stay well. Yet far too many are left to navigate this alone. Self-employment is rising sharply, often without choice. This research shows a worrying reality: too many people in non-traditional work are experiencing poor mental health.

These findings challenge the idea that mental ill health at work is an individual problem. It is shaped by systems that have not kept pace with how people work, live and earn today. Financial uncertainty and instability - a systemic feature of gig and freelance work for many - is a clear driver of poorer mental health. Too many people describe having to constantly self-advocate just to access basic adjustments. This is a burden no one should have to carry alone.

If we continue to overlook the mental health needs of people outside traditional employment, the consequences could be profound: more people forced out of work, greater economic insecurity, and added pressure on already stretched services.

We must respond with urgency, understanding and practical support. Government, employers, health insurers and health services all have a role to play. That means building systems that reflect the reality of modern work.

Together, we can do more so that everyone can stay in and return to mentally healthy work.

How are you doing?

Our core questions for the report every year - we asked 1000+ self-employed individuals about their mental health in 2025.

How was your mental health this year?

How would you rate your mental health overall during 2025?
Mental health rating Percentage (%)
Good 22.0
Fair 50.1
Poor 27.9
28% of our group are reporting poor mental health this year, and only 22% reporting good mental health. Compared to our 2024 data, there’s no significant change here, despite an incredibly challenging economic backdrop.

Have things improved for your mental health in 2025?

Have things improved for your mental health in 2025?
Change in mental health Percentage (%)
Significantly declined 17.0
Somewhat declined 22.7
Stayed the same 36.5
Somewhat improved 16.1
Significantly improved 7.7
Despite the overall headline numbers of reported mental health not changing, perception is that for a significant proportion of people, they felt their mental health was poorer this year than 2024. However, there’s a marked difference between those new to freelancing, and those established in self-employment. New freelancers (less than 2 years of freelancing) reported a 42% improvement in their mental health during 2025, compared to 18% in the established group (2+ years of freelancing) - this might suggest that some see a positive mental health boost when moving from employment into self-employment, where individuals see the benefits of more control and autonomy. However, new freelancers are more likely to report both more significant improvements and declines in their mental health as a result of self-employment - compared to established freelancers, showing a polarised picture. This indicates a wider spread of experiences among new freelancers, rather than a consistent positive effect. There’s also a significant age related difference here, those who are newer to the workforce (i.e. 0-10 years in work) are more likely to report improvement (55%) compared to those who have been in the workforce for longer (34%), and those more established in their work reported - 66% reported a decline, compared to 34% - this may suggest those earlier in their career may see more of the emotional benefits of self-employment over employment, and could align to shifting attitudes towards work. Established freelancers are less extreme: fewer report significant improvement, but they are also less likely to report decline, indicating greater adaptation or stability over time. 41% of established freelancers saw a decline, compared to 34% in the new freelancers group.

How often has stress, anxiety or poor mental health got in the way of working, during 2025?

How often has stress, anxiety or poor mental health prevented you from working effectively, during 2025?
Frequency Percentage (%)
Never 8.2
Rarely 23.8
Occasionally 47.0
Frequently 21.0
During 2025, how many days were you unable to work due to stress, anxiety or poor mental health?
Days unable to work Percentage (%)
No time off (0 days) 51.9
Little time off (1–14 days) 40.3
Significant time off (15–28 days) 4.0
Long-term (29+ days) 3.8
68% of our group say stress, anxiety or poor mental health had a negative impact on their ability to work effectively occasionally or frequently during 2025. Almost half of our group had to take time off due to poor mental health at some point during 2025. As the majority of self-employed individuals have no paid sick leave or paid holiday, this would mean they would be potentially also losing income. 32% of our group had some form of insurance or income protection against long-term illness, many of which provide cover for poor mental health.

On balance, how would you say 2025 was for you in self- employment?

On balance, how would you say 2025 was for you in self-employment?
Group Negative (%) Neutral (%) Positive (%)
All respondents 34.9 25.4 39.7
Newly freelance 19.1 29.6 51.3
Significant periods without income 54.5 25.5 20.0
There’s no single story across our group - a broad range of experiences, spread across challenging and positive stories - so to suggest it was a bad year for all freelancers would be wrong. But some trends in key groups do appear: Among those who recently entered self-employment, 51% reported a net positive year and only 19% net negative. For those who experienced significant periods without income, 55% reported a negative year, 25.5% neutral, and 20.0% net positive.

Joining self-employment

There's a growing number of people stepping into self-employment through circumstance, and this year's data shows a strong relationship between unplanned self-employment and wellbeing.

Did you plan to work in self-employment?

Did you plan to work in self-employment?
Response Pre-2023 (%) 2024 (%) 2025 (%)
Yes, it was my plan to be self-employed 51.8 50.0 38.5
No, but I’m happy working this way 32.5 23.1 31.9
No, I felt I had little other choice 15.7 26.9 29.7
Of our total group, over all tenures in self-employment, around half choose to join self-employment. Of the group who didn’t choose this way of working, 63% are happy to be working in self-employment. In the last 12 months, we’ve seen a significant drop in the number of people who chose self-employment voluntarily in our group - from 50% in 2024, to 38.5% in 2025.
The number of people who felt they had “little other choice”, has almost doubled in the past two years - 29.7% of those who joined self-employment in the last 12 months and 26.9% in the last two years, compared to only 15.7% for those 2+ years. Those who joined self-employment some years back are far less likely to report feeling like it was the only option for them.
Reported mental health by planned entrance to self-employment
Group Poor (%) Fair (%) Good (%)
By choice 24.8 50.6 24.6
Not by choice (all) 31.0 49.8 19.3
Little other choice 48.1 43.0 8.9
When we look at the baseline mental health of these groups, we see that lack of choice correlates with poorer mental health, and those who felt they had little other are at a high risk of poorer mental health. We are effectively seeing a larger group of people who are not in self-employment by choice, and who have poorer outcomes as a result. This is reflected in the decreased sentiment around whether self-employment is right for the individual. 71% of those who joined self-employment prior to two years ago report self-employment is “better for me than employment”, compared to only 58% who joined in the last two years. Importantly though - whilst lack of choice is clearly a major negative impact for a growing group many see positive benefits of finding themselves in self-employment - as 46% of this group still reported mental health improvement

Did you feel you had adequate time to prepare for self-employment?

Did you feel you had adequate time to prepare for self-employment?
Group Felt prepared (%) Didn’t feel prepared (%)
By choice 63.7 36.3
Not by choice 44.5 55.5
Those who planned to go self-employed, most generally felt prepared with enough time to plan for working in a new way - 64% said they felt prepared. However, it took some time. Of the "planned and prepared" group, only 28% felt ready if they had less than 3 months of prep. But between 3-6 months - almost 70% felt ready. Longer doesn't necessarily mean better - 3 in 10 people who planned their move into self-employment for three months or more still did not feel they had adequate time to prepare. For the "unplanned" group, those without any time to plan, unsurprisingly 83% didn't feel prepared - however, more than 56% felt prepared within 1-2 months - so having the pressure to get yourself sorted means it happens quicker.

Did you feel you had adequate resources, support and information to become self-employed?

Did you feel you had adequate resources, support and information to become self-employed?
Group Yes (%) No (%)
All responses 41.7 58.3
By choice 50.4 49.6
Not by choice 33.1 66.9
Only 42% of people felt they had adequate resources to join self-employment. For the group who didn’t choose to go self-employed, the number decreases to only 33%. Both figures suggest over 50% don’t have adequate support to get started in self-employment. This points to a significant lack of awareness or visible pathways to support for those who step into self-employment, regardless of how much they plan or prepare.

Impact of self-employment on mental health

Whilst the influences on our mental health are complex and nuanced, we ask questions around the perception of working in this way on our wellbeing.

How has working in self-employment affected your mental health, overall?

How has working in self-employment affected your mental health, overall?
Effect on mental health Percentage (%)
Significantly improved 19.3
Somewhat improved 35.1
No different 17.1
Somewhat declined 22.9
Significantly declined 5.5
Generally, our group reports that self-employment has improved their mental health overall - with 54% reporting an improvement and 17% seeing no change. However, 28.4% of our group still reported a decline due to self-employment.
Entry into self-employment vs impact on mental health
Entry into self-employment Impact % within group
By choice Improved 72.7
By choice Declined 27.3
Not by choice Improved 45.7
Not by choice Declined 54.3
If you split this “new to freelancing” group into planned and unplanned - the results are remarkably stark - with over 50% of the unplanned group seeing a decline in their wellbeing.
Compared with established freelancers, those in their first two years are around 10% less likely to say self-employment has improved their mental health, and 8% more likely to say it has declined. Charted over time in self-employment, we see general improvements for mental health reporting, suggesting confidence and experience working in this way generally sees positive benefits, but clearly the first couple of years can be very hard work.
I feel that self-employment is better for me than employment
Net position Percentage (%)
Agree 68.1
Neutral 21.8
Disagree 10.0
Self-employment is better for me than employment, by entry into self-employment
Entry into self-employment Agree (%) Disagree (%)
By choice 80.2 19.8
Not by choice 56.0 44.0
Overwhelmingly, most folk agree self-employment is “better for me” than employment. Those who recently became self-employed agree less though - 71% of those who have been in employment for longer than 2 years agree, compared to 58% for the newly self-employed. For the “unplanned” group, results are very different.
I feel like self-employment allows me to be healthier
Net position Percentage (%)
Agree 59.0
Neutral 28.6
Disagree 12.4
The majority of people feel self-employment provides more space to be healthier in comparison to employment. However, in the “unplanned” group, the results flip - with 47% disagreeing, and those new to freelancing group also generally disagree, 61% say self-employment is less healthy for them.

Major correlating factors to mental health in self-employment

We asked a broad set of questions to identify key influences and correlations to positive and poor mental health in our group.

Income, New Business and Clients

How would you rate your financial wellbeing during 2025?
Measure Poor (%) Fair (%) Good (%)
Financial health 41.6 39.4 19.0
Those reporting “good” financial health has dropped significantly, from 24.2% in 2024. Of those reporting poor mental health, 42% also reported poor financial health.
During 2025, would you say your self-employed income has increased or decreased, compared to 2024?
Change in income Percentage (%)
Significantly decreased 27.1
Somewhat decreased 17.4
About the same 27.3
Somewhat increased 20.3
Significantly increased 7.9
Around 45% of the group’s income decreased during 2025. Freelancers with a net income decrease were twice as likely to experience worsening mental health as improving mental health. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of freelancers whose mental health worsened in 2025 had also seen their income decline. 67% self-reported that a decline in income affected their mental health negatively.
During 2025, have you had any significant periods of time without income, due to being unable to find work?
Response Percentage (%)
Yes 53.4
No 46.6
More than half of our group had significant periods of time without income, where due to not being able to find work. 69% of our group reported this caused some or significant impact to their mental health. Of the declining mental health group, 62% had significant periods of time without income. Among those whose mental health improved, the pattern reverses: over 7 in 10 did not experience income gaps. Interestingly, there’s no significant difference here between the planned and unplanned groups, nor new or established freelancers - this is a common experience regardless of tenure or planning.
If you had to rely upon emergency savings, how long could you go without an income?
Emergency savings buffer Percentage (%)
No savings 7.8
1–8 weeks 20.4
8 weeks–6 months 34.4
6+ months 37.4
Over a quarter of our freelancers (28%) have eight weeks or less of emergency savings, while just over a third have a buffer of six months or more — highlighting a sharp divide in financial resilience. Freelancers with no savings or ≤8 weeks** are twice as likely to report declining mental health as improving mental health. 70.8% of our group had to use of emergency savings during the year, and 34.6% were unable to pay a critical bill at some point during 2025. 27% had to resort to a credit card or loan to cover their living costs during past 12 months. 55.6% considered or added additional income streams to cover their living costs in 2025. 59.3% of our group felt stressed that they did not have a financial plan in place.
Client-related factors causing stress, anxiety or negative mental health impact during 2025
Stress factor Percentage (%)
Poor client communication 69.8
Lack of feedback from client 55.7
Ghosting before a project commenced 48.5
Disputed contracts or payments 30.3
Ghosting after a project commenced 26.6
A significant portion of freelancers felt a lack of respect from their clients in 2025 - 39.3% of our group said they felt disrespected at some point during the year. Ghosting was experienced by almost 50% of our group, including over a quarter being ghosted after a project had started.
Dealing with slow payments
Issue Experienced (%) % of those where it added stress
Late payment 67.5 81.2
Excessive payment terms (60+ days) 43.4 66.4
Non-payment 26.4 50.8
Large numbers of freelancers have to deal with late or non-payments and long payment terms, meaning that even after work is completed, cashflow remains uncertain. For those affected, this has a direct impact on wellbeing - 81% of those experiencing late payments saw some level of additional stress, with 22% experiencing significant stress. Late payments occur at similar levels for both new and established freelancers, suggesting this is not driven by experience or individual process, but sits largely with payer behaviour.
During 2025, did you ensure you have a contract in place for every piece of work you do?
Response Percentage (%)
Yes, all contracts 41.6
No, but the majority 26.9
No, only a minority 18.0
I don't use contracts 13.6
Almost one-third of freelancers report frequently working without contracts. 39.4% of freelancers report stress caused by working without a contract, and 50% experienced some form of dispute relating to contracts or payments. 52.4% of respondents have insurance in place to protect against legal disputes, while 6% sought legal advice related to self-employment, including late payments and contract disputes.

Rest and wellbeing

All wellbeing baselines
Poor (%) Fair (%) Good (%)
Mental health 27.9 50.1 22.0
Physical health 10.5 47.0 42.5
Sleep 27.9 44.3 27.9
Diet & nutrition 12.7 45.2 42.0
Exercise 26.9 37.7 35.4
Social connection 33.8 43.5 22.8
Over a third of our group report poor levels of social connection, and only 28% of our group report good sleep. Research consistently shows the relationship between physical health, sleep health, exercise, diet, social connection and mental health - so these figures are very much intertwined.
During 2025, how many days did you choose to take away from work?
Days taken Percentage (%)
0 days 10.63
1–7 days 16.61
8–14 days 21.62
15–21 days 16.61
22–28 days 11.23
28+ days 23.21
More than 10% did not take any voluntary time off work during 2025, and 76% took less than the mandatory legal amount offered to employees. nb. Self-employment often comes with periods of time where you’re not “working”, but these aren’t always restful days – for example, time may still be spent looking for work or doing admin.
Days taken off for rest vs reporting good mental health
Days taken off for rest (grouped) % reporting good mental health
No time off 6.3
Little time off (1–14 days) 9.9
Parity with employment (15–28 days) 18.6
More than employment (29+ days) 27.4
Days taken off for rest vs reporting income decline
Days taken off for rest (grouped) % reporting income decline
No time off 58.1
Little time off (1–14 days) 52.4
Parity with employment (15–28 days) 41.6
More than employment (29+ days) 35.4
When mapped against good mental health, the correlation is clear - less rest and poorer mental health go hand in hand. However, it’s important to recognise that people are often taking less time off where they’re also seeing a decline in their income, suggesting people are having to work harder or unable to take time off to ensure their income. Whilst increased rest doesn’t directly mean better mental health, two things are true: poorer rest is linked to poorer mental health, and other contributing factors (like reduced income) often means rest is less possible - creating a compound issue. A note on carers. 48.1% of our group self-reported as being a carer (i.e. parenting, relatives, etc). We recognise those in this group have less flexibility over when they can work, and must absorb unpaid downtime to meet care responsibilities - so our wording of “choose to take time away from work” is poor, and we’ll improve this in the future: ie. taking time off work may not be a choice for many. In fact, a deeper study is worthwhile into being a carer in self-employment, especially as the group is so significant. Carers are more likely to take employment-equivalent or higher levels of time off (≈55% vs 48%) - and it would be unfair to suggest this is “rest” in the traditional sense. In our data, carers are more concentrated in lower income bands and less represented at the top end of the self-employment income distribution. Self-employment shifts the cost of care from employers onto carers themselves — financially and psychologically.

Social Connection and Support Networks

During 2025, how often did you feel lonely, isolated or disconnected as a self-employed professional?
Loneliness frequency Percentage (%)
Never 7.1
Hardly ever 14.4
Occasionally 32.8
Some of the time 26.4
Often or always 19.2
Almost 46% feel lonely occasionally or more often – and 1 in 5 feel lonely or isolated often or always in our group. Feelings of loneliness are most commonly reported as occasional (32.8%) or present some of the time (26.4%), while 19.2% report feeling lonely or isolated often or always. This indicates that loneliness is a frequent and recurring experience for many self-employed professionals, rather than a marginal or rare issue. Among those who felt lonely some of the time or more, poor mental health is common: around 4 in 10 rate their mental health as Poor, and fewer than 1 in 10 report Good mental health.
Loneliness frequency: self-employed vs general population
Loneliness frequency Self-employed (Leapers, Nov 2025) (%) General population (ONS, Nov 2025) (%)
Often or Always 19.2 ~7.7
Some of the time 26.4 ~18.0
Occasionally 32.8 ~24.0
Hardly ever / Never 21.5 ~49.0
Source: ONS Public Opinions and Social Trends, Great Britain – Personal wellbeing and loneliness, 5–30 November 2025.
In comparison to ONS data, we see significantly higher incidences in our group. Our group are more than twice as likely to feel lonely “Often or Always” compared to the general population.
On average, what proportion of your working time is remote or onsite?
Working pattern % of respondents
Mostly remote (≥75% of time) 81.0
Hybrid (25–74%) 15.5
Mostly onsite (<25%) 3.5
Working pattern vs loneliness frequency
Working pattern Lonely some of the time or more (%) Lonely less frequently (%)
Mostly remote (≥75%) 47.6 52.4
Hybrid (25–74%) 37.6 62.4
Mostly onsite (<25%) 40.7 59.3
Proportion of time interacting with others vs loneliness frequency
Proportion of time interacting with others Lonely some of the time or more (%) Lonely less frequently (%)
Mostly alone (<50%) 49.7 50.3
Mostly with others (≥50%) 32.6 67.4
The vast majority of our group are working remotely for more than 75% of their time. Nearly half (48%) of respondents reported some or significant stress from working on their own. For those new to freelancing, this increases to 57%. The most positive wellbeing correlations are seen among self-employed people who combine flexible or hybrid working with regular interaction with others; working remotely and alone is associated with the poorest social outcomes. Those working with others (whether remotely or not) also report lower frequency of loneliness. Among those who spend at least half their working time interacting with others, this falls to around one third. This gradient is stronger than for working from home alone, suggesting that social interaction itself, not location, is the key protective factor. The “mostly remote + mostly working alone” group is the largest group in the data and also the one with the poorest wellbeing profile. In this group, regular loneliness is common, with only around half reporting that they feel lonely rarely or never.
I feel like I have people I can turn to for support when I'm struggling
Response Percentage (%)
Agree 57.0
Neither 20.7
Disagree 22.2
Despite people reporting high levels of loneliness, most seem to have a good emotional support network, with more than half agreeing to this statement. Over 7 in 10 people who do not feel they have support experience loneliness some of the time or more. Lack of perceived support more than doubles the likelihood of regular loneliness. This is one of the strongest associations in our dataset, reinforcing that loneliness among the self-employed is not just about working patterns, but closely linked to whether people feel they have anyone to lean on.
I feel like I have adequate support for my mental health within the context of work
Response Percentage (%)
Agree 21.6
Neither 29.1
Disagree 49.3
I feel like I know where to find support for my mental health
Response Percentage (%)
Agree 47.0
Neither 27.8
Disagree 25.2
Only 1 in 5 feel they have adequate support for their mental health within the context of work, and more than half of the group don’t know where to find support for their mental health. New freelancers are the least supported group: 6 in 10 say they do not have adequate mental health support in the context of work. The absence of mental health support is most acute in the first two years of self-employment – exactly when people are most exposed and least buffered.
I feel confident I have people to ask for advice about self-employment
Response Percentage (%)
Agree 44.6
Neither 22.8
Disagree 32.5
Almost one-third don’t feel confident they have people to ask for advice on self-employment. New freelancers are less likely to feel they have advice support – only 37% say they have people to ask for advice.
During 2025, did you feel supported by your government, as a self-employed or small business owner?
Response Percentage (%)
No 94.0
Yes 6.0
Government support for the self-employed is perceived as almost entirely absent.

Thinking about the future

We asked a series of questions about how optimistic our group are feeling about the future of freelancing and their work

Does self-employment feel like a sustainable career choice?

Does self-employment feel like a sustainable career choice?
Response group Percentage (%)
Agree 44.6
Neutral 32.5
Disagree 22.9
Of our total group, only 29.9% feel like they have a clear sense of direction in their career, and 31.7% feel their career is heading in the direction they want. 52.5% are concerned about the threat of AI to their work, and 33.2% feel their career has already been negatively impacted by AI.

On balance, are you feeling negative or positive about 2026 in self-employment?

On balance, are you feeling negative or positive about 2026 in self-employment?
Sentiment Percentage (%)
Generally Positive 40.9
Neutral 25.9
Generally Negative 33.2
There’s a spread of sentiment towards 2026, but 41% of our group felt generally positive about 2026 in self-employment. Where individuals’ mental health had declined in 2024, they’re generally less optimistic about 2026, with 55% feeling negative about the year ahead. Where mental health improved in 2025, the group is overwhelmingly positive, with 71% feeling optimistic about 2026. Those whose mental health stayed about the same are also generally positive, with 44% optimistic and 31% neutral.

Recommendations

Our view on what needs to be improved, to make self-employment more supported and sustainable.

It's clear that self-employment is a significant proportion of the UK workforce - whilst numbers vary (due to poor definitions), around 5m people work in some form of non-employed or independent work, and a growing number of finding themselves in self-employment by circumstance rather than choice.

For the first few years of self-employment, the need for good quality support, resources, training, community and respectful behaviours, to help individuals transition into a very different way of working is critical. Without this support, mental health outcomes are poorer.

For many who have not been able to plan or prepare for this, or choose to work in this way - the need for support is even more essential.

This burden of accessing support cannot only fall to the individual - it must be provided by government, by hirers, by peers, by communities, by platforms, by society - a shared responsibility, especially in the face of growing unemployment, and larger numbers of individuals who are less able to work in traditional employment settings.

That feelings of isolation are so high in this group, goes to show we need to have a more connected and community-driven approach towards supporting the self-employed. Pathways to support must not only be of good quality, visible and promoted by all parts of the ecosystem which surrounds the self-employed, but also provide meaningful connection.

Over time, lack of support for the wellbeing of the self-employed moves to a burden on the state - as more individuals fall into the care of the NHS for their mental health and physical health; and the failure of more businesses leads to fewer tax revenues for the government.

Awareness, prevention and support is always better than dealing the results of inaction.

For Policymakers, hirers and platforms

  1. Recognise the significance, importance and validity of self-employment as work in policy
  2. Require "mental health at work policies" to be inclusive and supportive for all workers, not just employees
  3. Improvements to self-employment registration process to include mental health resource signposting
  4. Improvements in legislation to tackle systemic issues outside of the control of individuals, like late payments, mandatory contracts, unfair non-competes, etc.
  5. Investment in high quality shared resources on sustainable self-employment including freelancers not just "small businesses", including financial literacy and mental health.
  6. Investment for community programmes providing critical support infrastructure for the self-employed.

For Freelancers

Our recommendations and resources for freelancers, based upon this research, will be posted over 2026 at leapers.co

Matthew Knight, Founder
Leapers.

About this report

Author

Matthew Knight, Leapers

Methodology

This report is based on an online survey of 1,013 UK-based self-employed individuals, conducted between 1 October and 15 November 2025. The survey was distributed via a wide range of UK freelancer and self-employed community platforms using an open link and was self-selecting. Only respondents who identified as self-employed are included in this report. Results are unweighted and based on valid responses only, meaning base sizes vary by question. Findings describe associations and correlations, not causal relationships.

How to cite

Matthew Knight (2025). Leapers: Mental health in freelancing during 2025.
Available at: https://leapers.co/research/2025/report/

Contact

For questions, media enquiries, partnerships, or reuse of this research:
[email protected]

Acknowledgements & Thanks

Emma Jones CBE and Jonathan Stuart at Mind UK for their insight and foreword to this report.

Tthe Independency Community Coaltion for supporting and promoting the survey within their groups - as well as support from YunoJuno, Malt and Mind UK, and many other organisations who shared the survey with their audiences.

Ashley Baxter of With Jack for providing financial support for this year's study - covering the costs of survey platform.

Copyright and reuse

© 2025 Leapers. This report is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0).
You are free to share and quote this work for non-commercial, editorial, and public-interest purposes with attribution.
For any formalised use, including reproduction in reports, policy documents, training, consultancy, products, or institutional publications: please contact Leapers at [email protected] and cite this report.

Data responsibility

This research reflects self-reported experiences of survey participants and should not be interpreted as clinical diagnosis, legal advice, or official statistics.

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