WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE? BE YOUR OWN BOSS

As the number of self-employed people in the UK reaches record levels, it seems that setting up as a sole trader isn’t just good for the economy, but good for our health too, according to new research by a co-working space in London.

Huckletree, based in Clerkenwell, interviewed 4,000 solo workers and entrepreneurs about their experiences of working from home, of whom 43 per cent of people said it made their relationship with their partner or spouse better.

IMPROVED WORK-LIFE BALANCE
55 per cent listed an improved work/life balance as the main benefit of working for yourself.

The second best thing about being a freelancer was avoiding office politics, while 25 per cent of respondents said being able to be there for children when they needed them was an advantage.

But it wasn’t all positive.

38 per cent reported that working from home left them feeling lonely, 48 per cent said they would like other people to bounce ideas off and 22 per cent got easily distracted.

“This research shows that working from home can improve our relationships, sense of well-being and work-life balance,” Gabriela Hersham, owner of Huckletree, says.

“You can be on hand for your family and you don’t have to deal with office politics - something that can drag us all down.

BIG HOLE
“But the research showed that even those who did find their lives had improved because of the autonomy of being a free agent still had a big colleague shaped hole in their lives.

“When you’re working on your own all day, it’s very easy to feel lonely. Perhaps the solution is to find a way of extricating the best bits of being employed, like having colleagues to bounce ideas off, from the worse bits, such as office politics and not having control over how you work.”