Self-employed people in Belgium are paying more attention to their mental wellbeing and work-life balance. A new survey has revealed that, compared to two years ago, independents are working on average over two hours less a week.
Human resources services provider Acerta surveyed 1,000 self-employed people and found that those who start their own business work just under 45 hours a week (44.7) in the first year, and take an average of 17.9 days holidays.
This compares to results of the survey in 2022, which showed that those starting out as self-employed were working an average of 47 hours per week.
According to the survey, people with a secondary self-employed occupation works an average of 17 hours per week for that secondary job.
The most recent survey also found that 84% of newly self-employed people take the same amount of holidays, or more, compared to when they were an employee. Meanwhile, 8.4% took less vacation days in their first year as self-employed compared to when they were still working as an employee, and 7.6% took no holidays at all.
Nearly half (47.6%) of those who took less or no holiday explained that they could not afford any loss of income, while four out of ten claimed they did not have the time for holidays.
The median number of holiday days taken by self-employed starters was 20 - equal to the minimum number of statutory vacation days that a full-time employee is entitled to in Belgium.
Christine Festjens, managing director for starters and self-employed with Acerta, said that for a long time it was often said that self-employed people were only concerned with work - a trend that "seems to be turning".
"Today, starting self-employed people pay more attention than ever to their own mental well-being and a good work-life balance. Many people also start as self-employed people primarily to be their own boss and to create a better work-life balance than when they were still employees. The figures are therefore a positive development: it is important that starters are aware of their limits and that they do not burn themselves out," she said in a press release.
The Acerta survey took place between 28 March and 18 April 2024 and was conducted among 952 self-employed workers who started between September 2022 and June 2023 (inclusive). Some 55% were self-employed in a secondary occupation, and 45% were self-employed in a main occupation. The average age of participating starting self-employed people was 38.5 years.
