Self-employment and Health after Age 50
Research into self-employment in older people.
About the research project
Older workers in the UK are disproportionately self-employed. Policymakers increasingly see this form of employment as a potential path to health and wellbeing at work.
Wellbeing matters and self-employment can offer more control and autonomy over employment in older age. This is seen as having potential health and wellbeing benefits.
Statistics suggest that self-employment is relatively common amongst older people. But little research is conducted to explore the experiences of this group.
One under-appreciated aspect is the sheer diversity of self-employment in older age, which ranges from work within the gig economy to highly paid consultancy. Little is known about how pathways into self-employment influence health and wellbeing in older age.
The research on this topic is being conducted by researchers from:
- Newcastle University
- University of Edinburgh
- VU Amsterdam
It is part of the broader project ‘Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work’, led by Prof Wendy Loretto from the University of Edinburgh.
Qualitative interviews have been conducted with a diverse sample of 40 self-employed people over the age of 50 in the UK. Each interview lasted around an hour and a half, and placed their work in the context of their life histories. Interviews explored a variety of topics, including:
- individuals’ pathways into self-employment
- what their work entailed, what they thought about it, and the impact on their health and well-being (including financial and caring aspects)
- less ‘visible’ health issues, including the menopause and cognitive health
- Dr David Lain – Newcastle University
- Dr Jakov Jandric – Newcastle University, now University of Edinburgh
- Dr Mariska van der Horst – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
For further information, please contact David Lain: david.lain@ncl.ac.uk
Funder
The funder for the project was:
- UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge
Duration
- 2021-23
You can find further information about the broader project at the Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work (SHAW) website.