6 beefy bits of advice for the recently self-employed
Make 2021 yours
1. Protect boundaries
For self-employed people, boundaries can be blurry. This includes those between work and the rest of life, working for different clients, and working on personal business and on clients’ businesses. This can be caused by the income insecurity inherent in self-employed work,clients’ expectationsfor availability around the clock or renegotiation of agreed work, which creates complications in competing demands.
Long working hours and difficulty in disengaging from work contribute to potential conflicts between work and family and burnout. However, research suggests that learning tosay noand protect boundaries creates room to rest and recharge. It helps with taking on new opportunities, improving performance (by focusing on only one task at a time), and having a life and identity outside of work.
There are several things that can be helpful: turning off wifi, deleting the email app from your phone, and scheduling all tasks – including family time and leisure – in addition to making an effort to be mindfully present with loved ones.
2. Learn
Self-employed people have more responsibilities and less support than employees. They are in charge of every aspect of their business, without access to admin and sales teams, databases, stationary and so on, which can bestressful. To manage this stress, self-employed people can learn the ins and outs of their business through enrolling infree online coursestailored to them, or using the knowledge of peers and mentors.
Additionally, research shows that finding and usingpersonal strengthscan reduce stress, while boosting productivity and well-being. Indeed, learning itself is aroute toward well-being.
3. Understand potential unknowns
Self-employed workers face many insecurities, such asvariable workloads, changing client demands, cash flow issues and insecure incomes. These causefear and uncertaintyand take up valuable mental and emotional resources.
Not knowing whether work will be available in three months or whether a client will pay on time aren’t only scary on their own, but also bring the possibility of experiencing pain and loss if everythingcrumblesand impacts loved ones.
People can learn how to buildemergency funds, manageslow paying clients, and develop agrowth mindsetto cope with unexpected challenges.
4. Nurture relationships
Self-employment is often alonelyjourney because othersmay not understandwhat the role involves. There are no formal co-workers around, and making time to socializecan be challenging. Loneliness is detrimental to well-being, with associated risks thatexceed the dangerof smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
Nurturing relationshipsis essentialand self-employed workers can develop positive relationships a number of ways. Sending thank you letters to clients, seeking out and working with mentors and peers, and prioritizing time to connect with family, friends, and significant others all help create meaningful connections.
5. Give up unhealthy pressure
Self-employed people put unhealthy pressures on themselves. It can be easy to compare ourselves to highly visible entrepreneurs and feel guilt, shame and disappointment from not meeting personal expectations. While these self-imposed pressures can have, to some extent, a motivational effect towork harder, they also act as stressors andimpair well-being.
Such unhealthy pressures might also make it more difficult to open up, express vulnerability, and seek support because of fear that this may be perceived as a weakness. Acknowledging the multiple reasons why something may not be going well and practicingself-compassionis a simple, yet powerful technique.
6. Establish routines
While self-employed people havegreater autonomy and flexibilitythan employees, they also lack the structure and support of organisations. This unique combination of working conditions makes it more difficult to remain motivated,to avoid stressand to manage time, creating a spiral of negative emotions that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, impairing performancethrough procrastination.
One way to cope with this challenge isby establishing routines. In addition to reducing some of the negative emotions and improving productivity, routines can promote a sense ofwell-being and meaning. Routines can also make it easier to incorporate the steps mentioned previously into daily or weekly schedules, including time to look after oneself, not just the business.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a difficult time to become self-employed. But when the challenges inherent in this type of work are addressed, self-employment can actually contribute to well-being. It can create flexibility,autonomy, asense of meaning, andopportunitiesto be creative and express one’s values.
Like all change, this transition will likely require time and self-compassion. But in the long term, self-employment can be sustainable and rewarding, provided we look after ourselves.
This article byAndreana Drencheva, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship,University of Sheffield;Kristin Hildenbrand, Lecturer in Leadership and Organisational Behavior,University of Sheffield, andMike Duffy Jr., Doctoral Researcher,University of Sheffield, is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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