Freelancers left out of mental health push as UK gig workforce grows

As Mental Health Awareness Month gathers pace, millions of UK freelancers remain overlooked despite forming a growing share of the workforce. In sectors like the creative industries, where over 30% are self-employed, more than half report burnout, yet most have no access to sick pay, HR support or wellbeing programmes. Around 70% say they don’t know where to find help. Campaigners including Leapers warn that businesses relying on freelance talent must start recognising them as part of the workforce, or risk rising burnout, weaker productivity and a widening gap in the UK’s approach to modern work.

Freelancers power the economy. Their wellbeing is still an afterthought
Awareness months mean little if a third of the workforce is left out of the conversation

At www.Leapers.co, the message this Mental Health Awareness Month is uncomfortably clear: we are talking a great deal about workplace wellbeing, but not about everyone who works.

Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash

May brings the usual wave of well-meaning posts. Employers highlight initiatives, share commitments and celebrate culture. It all sounds positive. But for millions of freelancers, it still rings hollow.

Because they are not in the room.

Freelancers now make up a significant and growing share of the UK workforce. In sectors such as the creative industries, they are not a marginal group but the backbone. More than 30% of workers are self-employed. Yet when it comes to mental health, they remain largely invisible.

The evidence is increasingly stark. Surveys show more than half of creative workers reporting symptoms of burnout in the past year. Behind that figure sits a harsher truth: no sick pay, no HR support, no employee assistance programmes, and no realistic option to “step back” without financial consequences.

This is not simply a wellbeing issue. It is a structural gap in how modern work operates.

Freelancers sit in an awkward space. They are essential to delivery, but excluded from the systems designed to support people. Businesses rely on their flexibility, but too often stop short of offering even basic guidance or signposting when it comes to mental health.

That gap is widening as economic pressures intensify. Rising costs, uncertain pipelines and tighter margins mean freelancers are absorbing risk that would once have been shared. The result is predictable: more stress, more isolation, and more people struggling quietly without knowing where to turn.

Perhaps the most telling statistic is this: around 70% of freelancers say they do not know where to find support for their wellbeing. That is not a small oversight. It is a systemic failure.

There are, however, practical steps beginning to emerge. Initiatives such as WorkWellWithUs, backed by communities like Leapers, are offering straightforward resources that employers can share with the freelancers they engage. This is not about costly perks. It is about access, visibility and basic responsibility.

And that responsibility matters.

Recognition signals value. It tells freelancers they are part of the working ecosystem, not just a transactional add-on. When that recognition is absent, the message is equally clear.

Small businesses should take note. Many depend heavily on freelance talent to remain agile. Ignoring freelancer wellbeing is not just ethically questionable, it is commercially short-sighted. Burnout affects delivery, reliability and continuity. It weakens the very flexibility businesses depend on.

There is also a wider policy question. The UK has spent years encouraging self-employment and flexible working. But support structures have not kept pace. We have built a system that promotes independence while quietly transferring risk.

Mental Health Awareness Month should be more than a moment of reflection. It should prompt a rethink of who counts when we talk about “our people”.

If freelancers contribute to your business, they are part of your workforce. If they are part of your workforce, their wellbeing is not optional.

This does not require complex programmes or significant cost. It starts with simple actions: sharing trusted resources, acknowledging the pressures freelancers face, and making sure support does not stop at the payroll.

Freelancers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking not to be overlooked.

Until that changes, the language of awareness will continue to miss those who may need it most.