During such uncertain times, it is more important than ever to take care of our mental health. This holds even more weight for people working in the gig economy. A lot of the benefits to being a gig worker, including flexible hours and work location, and the freedom to be your own boss, can become major stressors. The responsibility of creating and maintaining your own schedule without oversight provides people with flexibility and autonomy. However, it also adds a level of stress and discipline not commonly associated with a traditional job.
Additionally, gig workers often don’t have a single place of business. Instead, they spend more time driving or working in different locations. This flexibility offers gig workers far more work freedom but the lack of consistency can be stressful. Despite the many benefits of working in the gig economy, it also comes with difficulties that can impact mental health. It is important to recognize the impact of these difficulties and stressors.
How to Support Your Mental Health
Being aware of these things is the first step to overcoming and working through them. Creating good work-life balance is important for gig workers, especially when there are less clear boundaries separating work and non-work life. Some things that can help create this balance and thus improve mental health are regular exercise-something that is very important for gig workers that spend significant time driving, a healthy diet, regular communication and interaction with friends and family, getting enough sleep, and finding time to do things that make you happy.
Healthcare
Healthcare is important to improving mental health but finding health coverage for gig workers isn’t always easy. At Delivery Drivers, Inc. we understand that healthcare and alternative healthcare options are expensive, especially for self-employed individuals and independent contractors. To ease this burden, we partnered with multiple healthcare companies to provide driver partners with healthcare options and alternatives.
