How many freelancers suffer from a chronic illness?
The significance and burden of chronic illness should not be trivialised as there are many more freelancers and contractors who are managing chronic illnesses than you might imagine.
With around 15 million people in the UK with long term conditions and chronic diseases, and with a growing self-employed community numbering around 4.3 million people in the UK, it's likely that at least 1 in 4 freelancers may be affected in some way from chronic or long term illness, which may impact their capability to work.
And chronic conditions are likely to occur more often in the self-employed sector than the general workforce, as many people choose to work for themselves based on the option to manage their work and health balance for themselves. Long term and chronic illness tend to exhibit more in older people (aged 60 and over), a prominent demographic within the self-employed sector.
For those with chronic illnesses, productivity levels may be unsteady and many freelancers find themselves losing hours to both sickness and recovery time. Managing multiple chronic illnesses may also be a concern as the Department for Health cites that “the number of people with multiple long-term conditions appears to be rising”. And the struggles associated with chronic disease can often leave you wondering what to do when you fall sick as a freelancer.
What challenges are there for freelancers with chronic illnesses?
It’s easy to feel siloed and alone when you have a chronic illness or disability. It can be overwhelming when you have a bad day or aren’t feeling 100% if you’re feeling alone in your situation. Building a treatment plan for your chronic illness and having a support network in place can both provide the proper support when you need it.
Managing finances and having a steady income can be a challenge with a chronic illness. If you need to take breaks from working, even if that may be for a few days (let alone weeks or months if you have a flare-up of your condition or require hospital treatment), it can be difficult to manage finances and workload. Having a good understanding of your chronic illness can help identify any trends in symptoms and when you may need additional support. Budgeting and financial planning, for example working out your business expenses is a must.
When looking at the challenges freelancers with a chronic illness face, stress plays a significant factor. Worrying over deadlines and being unable to work due to illness can exacerbate symptoms. This, in turn, can increase stress levels making it easy to end up in a cycle of stress and worry.
A significant downside is having no holiday pay or the benefits of being employed, such as a pension or maternity/paternity pay. However, an easy way to rectify this can be to build potential costings into your budget and client charges.
How to manage a self-employed career with a chronic illness
Be realistic about deadlines. That means being honest with yourself and your clients (in terms of when you can deliver work, not the details of your illness). It’s more than acceptable to say you’ve not got availability if you know you’ve got a project booked in and will need some downtime to rest or recover.
Schedule time for rest and self-care. As a freelancer, you rely on yourself to pay your bills, so spending time on yourself is an important investment.
Additionally, investing in insurance to cover short term periods of sickness as a freelancer can also give you peace of mind. Creating a savings fund for rainy days can also alleviate stress, knowing you have a buffer or cash cushion to fall back on.
Find like-minded freelancers and support groups. There are support networks in the freelancing world, and it’s surprisingly easy to find others in a similar situation. Facebook groups and forums provide support platforms for the disabled and chronically ill, with advice on everything freelance from contracts to managing pain.
On Facebook, try searching for “Insert illness here” support group for your local or regional forums or access the following groups for like-minded communities:
- Chronic Illness Entrepreneurs - www.facebook.com/groups/chronicillnessentrepreneurs/
- Freelance Corner - www.facebook.com/freelancecrnr
- Creative Freelancers UK - https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativefreelancersuk
- Chronically Awesome Tribe - www.facebook.com/chronicallyawesometribe
Be kind and compassionate to yourself. Respect your limitations and work to the best of your ability but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t complete a task. Split your time wisely between work and rest. Listen to your body, and don’t push too far so that you burn out or use up energy (spoons) from another day.
Support and other resources for chronically ill freelancers
- Disability Rights UK, run by and for people with lived experience of disability including long term health conditions - https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/
- Citizens Advice Bureau, Confidential and independent advice - http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
- MIND, Information and Support for those living with a mental health problem - https://www.mind.org.uk/
- Mental Health at Work, Small businesses and the self-employed: moving out of the pandemic - https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/toolkit/small-businesses-and-the-self-employed-moving-out-of-the-pandemic/
- Scope, the disability equality charity, who offer practical advice and emotional support - http://www.scope.org.uk/
- Big Orange Heart, A well-being support community for remote workers - https://www.bigorangeheart.org/
- My computer my way - https://mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk/
- Chronic Illness Entrepreneurs Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/chronicillnessentrepreneurs/
- Freelance Corner - https://www.facebook.com/freelancecrnr
- Creative Freelancers UK Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativefreelancersuk
- Chronically Awesome Tribe - https://www.facebook.com/chronicallyawesometribe
- Spoon Theory - https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/
- GOV.UK Long Term Conditions Compendium - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/long-term-conditions-compendium-of-information-third-edition
- Blog: What to do when you fall sick as a freelancer? - https://freelancecorner.co.uk/what-to-do-when-you-fall-sick-as-a-freelancer/
- Blog: Budgeting for the summer - https://www.ipse.co.uk/ipse-news/mymoneymag/mymoneymagazine-blog/budgeting-for-the-summer.html
- Blog: What expenses can I claim working from home? - https://www.ipse.co.uk/ipse-news/ipse-blog/expenses-claim-working-from-home.html
- IPSE Member Benefits - https://www.ipse.co.uk/member-benefits/using-your-benefits.html
- Benefits and grants: Access to Work - https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work
- Benefits and grants: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - https://www.gov.uk/pip
- Universal Credit - https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit
- ‘New style’ Employment and Support Allowance - https://www.gov.uk/how-to-claim-new-style-esa
- Calm - https://www.calm.com/
- Headspace - https://www.headspace.com/
- Aloe Bud - https://aloebud.com/
Managing a self-employed career with chronic illnesses can be extremely tough at times. But it can also be incredibly rewarding, and allow you to manage your work and health more effectively than as an employee.
As a freelancer with chronic conditions, I've found amazing communities offering a wealth of advice and support which has made the challenges more manageable. I wouldn’t exchange my freelance life. It’s incredibly gratifying and allows the flexibility that a typical 9-5 simply doesn’t allow.
Have you ever had a business idea that needed significant capital to start? Angel investors offer an alternative to business loans or venture capital (VC) funding...
In this guide, we run through the key things you need to know about IR35 as a self-employed professional, including the difference between 'inside' and 'outside' ...
Even the most resilient self-employed professionals can be thrown by unexpected challenges, including power cuts, internet outages, office thefts and more. Find o...
