Study: Being Self-Employed May Improve Mental Health

More and more people are quitting their job to work for themselves. According to Freshbooks, 27 million Americans are expected to quit their full-time job over the next two years, resulting in more than 42 million self-employed workers. And while working for yourself offers several benefits, including the ability to set your own hours, there's new evidence suggesting that it's good for your health.

According to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Groningen, people who start their own business to work for themselves after being unemployed reap the benefits of improved mental health, whereas people who transition from a traditional job to self-employment reap the benefits of improved mental and physical health.

Upon hearing this, you may assume that the health benefits reported in this study are attributed to varying degrees of income, working environment or other external factors. Researchers explain, however, that these factors did not affect the results of their study.

"Importantly, the gains cannot be explained by changes in income or working conditions and are not driven by personality and risk preferences or the local unemployment conditions," said Milena Nikolova, the study's lead author and researcher.

Of course, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that self-employed workers are healthier than their counterparts. Employment is a major source of stress for millions of people. When you work for someone else, you'll probably be going out your way to try and appease him or her. Not only does this negatively impact your productivity, but it creates psychoglocial stress that can take a toll on your health in more ways than one. As your stress levels rise, for example, you may have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. This alone cause other problems

Furthermore, chronic work-related stress can suppress your immune system. Statistics show that adults catch about three cold infections per year. When your immune system is suppressed -- whether from stress, malnutrition or other causes -- you'll catch colds and other infections more frequently.

This study, however, suggests that working for yourself may offer health benefits. As noted above, researchers found that previously unemployed people who began working for themselves experienced mental health benefits, and people who were previously employed that began working for themselves experienced mental and physical health benefits. This doesn't mean that you should quit your day job to become your own boss. Rather, don't discount the idea of working for yourself, as it may improve your health in multiple ways.