Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe: A focus on the self-employed

Gerogiannis, Ilias; Capecchi, Stefania; Curtarelli, Maurizio

Abstract

Self-employed workers worldwide encountered significant mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the pandemic has affected the mental health of the self-employed more significantly than employees. To address this question, we analyzed data from more than 4,000 self-employed individuals across the 27 European Union (EU) member states. We found that the pandemic had a more significant impact on the mental health of the self-employed in the EU, especially those working in the health and education sectors and countries with the highest stringency measures. Our findings also reveal that the pandemic has prompted self-employed individuals, particularly self-employed women, to be more open to talking about their mental health challenges at work, suggesting a shift in their perception of mental health stigma. This study highlights an opportunity and a need for EU policymakers to introduce targeted measures to support the self-employed in building back better in the post-COVID-19 world. JEL CLASSIFICATIONS: I31, L26

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 9, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 6, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 17, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 26, 2025
• Journal: BRQ Business Research Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 2340-9444
• Electronic ISSN: 2340-9444
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23409444251315477
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13734934