Self-employed people also do better than active wage-earners when it comes to physical wellbeing. The NN Longevity Report also includes a Physical Wellbeing Index. Self-employed people score an average of 7.1 out of 10 on this index, while active wage-earners lag behind with a score of 6.4 out of 10. Almost half of the self-employed (48%) experience high physical energy, while 27% indicate that pain has a negative impact on their wellbeing. These figures are worse for wage-earners, with 38% experiencing high physical energy and 35% are bothered by pain. 

Prevention is better than a cure. The sixpack-for-life model developed by NN focuses on six aspects that help strengthen good mental health: sport, sleep, sabbatical (or long or short moments of renewal), social connectedness, identifying and tackling stressors, and self-knowledge. By paying the required attention to these six aspects, both during and alongside their work, the self-employed are able to take proactive measures, as well as reduce their stress and avoid heading towards a burnout. 

Moreover, the sixpack-for-life model doesn’t just have an effect on our mental health; the first two points – sport and sleep – also help strengthen physical wellbeing. 

The average self-employed person takes part in a physical activity of 30 minutes or more, resulting in a raised heart rate, on an average of 2.6 days a week. This includes sport, but also activities such as brisk walking.  

Self-employed people give their sleep quality an average score of 6.2 out of 10. They sleep slightly better than active wage-earners (5.9 out of 10), but the figure is lower than the general scores for wellbeing and happiness. These results indicate that there is room for improvement in terms of sleep quality, while there is also room for improvement in the physical wellbeing of the self-employed.