Clearview National March 2018 - Issue 196 | Page 8

PROUD SPONSOR OF INDUSTRY NEWS INDUSTRYNEWS 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