The hidden workforce powering the UK – and why their wellbeing can no longer be optional 

The UK’s workforce is changing faster than many employers can keep up with. Alongside the rise of hybrid work, a quieter but equally significant shift is reshaping how organisations get work done: the rapid expansion of the freelance, contractor and contingent workforce. 

Across sectors, companies are turning to flexible talent to fill skills gaps, accelerate delivery and bring specialist expertise into teams. The ONS reports that self-employment remains consistently high, with more than four million people working for themselves. In many project-based industries, contingent workers now make up a sizable share of the workforce. 

Yet while this shift has transformed how businesses operate, it has also exposed a gap that has long gone unaddressed: what does responsibility for wellbeing and connection look like when the workforce is no longer made up only of employees? 

This question is becoming more urgent. Many of the structural risks affecting wellbeing – job insecurity, delayed payments, isolation, unclear expectations – are often felt more acutely by freelancers and contractors than by permanent staff. As organisations become more reliant on flexible talent, their ability to support these workers will directly influence productivity, project outcomes and culture. 

To explore this, The Well Crowd spoke to leaders across talent, freelance management and workplace experience. Their insights reveal a clear message: connection isn’t a perk. It is operational. 

The basics of wellbeing start much earlier than employers think 

For Sam Price, Talent Solutions Director at Morson Edge, the starting point is simple: organisations need to ensure freelancers and temporary workers feel safe, respected and able to do their work well from day one. 

“Wellbeing for contractors, freelancers and temporary workers begins with the fundamentals – do you have consistent and clearly communicated policies and processes in place that mean that they feel secure and valued?” Price asks. “Psychological safety is a critical element of wellbeing and could be something as simple as making sure every contractor knows the process and deadline for submitting their timesheet, so that they get paid on time.” 

Far from being administrative details, these basics determine whether a contractor feels like a trusted part of the team, or an outsider navigating uncertainty. 

Clarity, fairness and reliable communication reduce cognitive load – an important factor in sustaining mental health. A 2024 McKinsey study found that role ambiguity and lack of information were among the top workplace stressors contributing to burnout for UK workers. The impact is amplified for freelancers, who often move between projects and systems. 

Price adds that managed service providers can help create consistency across onboarding and communication, but responsibility sits with the organisation too: 

“It’s up to the company engaging the contractor to ensure they get the basics of wellbeing right, with a clean and welcoming work environment, for example, and respectful use of language,” Price explains. “It is in the company’s interests to ensure conditions are in place that enable contractors to feel comfortable and be productive.” 

A dual responsibility – but also an overlooked leadership gap 

Where exactly the line of responsibility sits is debated, especially as the workforce becomes more blended. For Jibek Valevka, Head of UK Community at freelance management platform, Malt, wellbeing must be a shared effort. 

“I think the responsibility sits on both sides,” Valevka says. “Freelancers absolutely need to engage with the company they’re working with across its values, way of operating and expectations. Freelancers who actively embrace a client’s culture tend to be more successful on their projects. But that effort has to be mirrored by the company. The best practices organisations use to hire, onboard and nurture their permanent staff should, as far as possible, be extended to freelancers as well.” 

Valevka points to a growing trend: the line between permanent employees and freelancers is blurring. Organisations expect loyalty, productivity and cultural alignment from contingent workers, yet often do not offer the same support mechanisms. 

One solution, she argues, is leadership accountability. 

“One of our clients often says the line between permanent employees and freelancers is blurring,” she says. “If companies want freelancers to deliver at their full potential, they need to treat that relationship with intention. However, companies that have freelancers as part of their workforce strategy also need to have a Chief Freelancer Officer, because right now no one is truly accountable for making sure freelancers are integrated, supported and working at their highest capability.” 

It is a striking idea – and one that reflects how essential freelancers have become to business success. 

Measuring belonging and focus: the new metrics of a distributed workforce 

As hybrid work reshapes how teams operate, many organisations are exploring new indicators of performance, including belonging, connection and focus. But how can such concepts be tracked for people who may only be embedded in a team for months or weeks? 

Price argues that attrition provides valuable insight: “Data is essential for meaningful measurement and the key data point to consider is attrition. Companies need to track both ‘regretted attrition’ – when contractors leave a project before the end of their contract, or before you’d ideally want them to go, and ‘forced attrition’ – when the employer has to let a contractor go due to underperformance, which is often an indicator that they are demotivated or unhappy.” 

Productivity also offers signals: missed milestones, slower delivery and reduced pace can be early warnings of disengagement. 

“Direct feedback matters too”, Price adds: “Do they feel they are being listened to? Do they feel able to raise contradictory opinions? If they have been brought in for their specialist expertise, it’s important to know whether that expertise is being valued and allowed to thrive, or being stifled.” 

Valevka says existing measurement tools can easily extend to freelancers if organisations choose to prioritise it. “Employers already track these for their permanent teams, so it’s not a huge leap to adapt those tools for freelancers. Shorter, project-specific surveys could work as well as clearer check-ins. But someone inside the company needs to take ownership of designing these measures. Again, a Chief Freelancer Officer would be perfect for it.” 

Inclusion doesn’t need to create employment risk – but it does need intention 

A recurring tension is whether freelancers should be included in communication channels, culture-building activities and/or wellbeing programmes. Some employers worry this could imply employee status and create tax complications under IR35. 

Price acknowledges the challenge: “Including contractors and freelancers in company-wide communication and wellbeing initiatives is a balancing act, because it’s good to give them a sense of belonging but important to avoid giving them perceived employee status, which could affect their tax liability under IR35. This needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the length of tenure and role for the contractor and the specific communication and wellbeing initiative concerned.” 

Valevka argues that thoughtful inclusion unlocks better collaboration and stronger outcomes: “Freelancers want to feel connected to the teams they’re supporting and clients benefit massively when they do. Some of our clients already include freelancers in internal coaching or L&D opportunities and it makes a real difference. The nature of freelancing is quite solitary and mental health is a real issue in the freelance community. So, companies shouldn’t exclude them from communication rhythms, cultural moments or wellbeing support. They should have internal ‘champions’ who make sure freelancers are not floating on the outside of a project. At the end of the day, inclusion directly impacts how effectively freelancers can do their work.” 

The cost of disconnection is operational, not cultural 

Both experts emphasise that failing to support freelancers has direct consequences for delivery. 

Price highlights the risk of losing key expertise mid-project: “The biggest risk is that valuable expertise and resource might leave a project before it’s completed. This is particularly problematic for companies with time-critical projects in niche sectors because contractors with specialist expertise can easily pick up work elsewhere and they are hard to replace.” 

Valevka agrees: “If freelancers aren’t connected or supported, companies simply won’t get the value they hired them for. It shows up in slower onboarding, misaligned expectations, poorer collaboration and, ultimately, outcomes that fall short of what the organisation was hoping for. If a company brings in freelancers to accelerate delivery or bring a fresh perspective, but then leaves them on the periphery, it defeats the whole purpose. Connection is operational.” 

The future: a workforce where flexibility and connection must co-exist 

Looking ahead, hybrid work will expand rather than fade. Paul Sephton, Global Head of Brand Communications at Jabra, says the office will continue to evolve as a place for relationships, not routines. 

“This has been the year of return-to-office mandates, but rather than ending hybrid work, they have cemented it. It’s clear that hybrid work is no longer a short-term solution. It’s becoming the long-term model for how people connect and collaborate. By 2030, more than half of all knowledge workers will split their time between home, the office and everywhere in between. The office isn’t going away, it’s just being redesigned. The future office will become a destination for collaboration, creativity and connection rather than a mandatory location. People are retuning not because they have to, but because they find value in being together.” 

For freelancers, this shift may widen opportunities for connection – but only if organisations build systems that allow flexible workers to take part. 

Natalie Shears, CEO of The Well Crowd, says organisations can no longer treat freelance wellbeing as optional or outside their remit: 

“Freelancers and contractors now sit at the heart of how modern organisations operate, yet the systems that support workforce health have not kept pace. We are relying more heavily on flexible talent than ever, but offering them fewer protections, less clarity and limited access to wellbeing support. If we want a productive, resilient labour market, we need to recognise that wellbeing isn’t tied to employment status — it’s tied to the work people do, and the pressures they carry. Employers and policymakers both have a role in closing this gap.” 

The next frontier of workplace wellbeing 

The modern workforce is no longer defined by contracts. It is defined by contribution. Businesses depend on freelancers, contractors and temporary workers for agility, creativity and critical expertise. Supporting their wellbeing is not a moral bonus; it is a strategic requirement. 

Wellbeing, connection and clarity are becoming conditions for productivity. And as organisations increasingly rely on flexible talent to deliver core work, those who invest in this group will gain an advantage that is both cultural and operational. 

But the responsibility does not sit with employers alone. The rise of flexible and contingent work is outpacing the policy frameworks designed to regulate it. Government must rethink how tax, employment status and wellbeing intersect – especially within IR35, which was never built with today’s large, blended workforces in mind. 

IR35 focuses on tax treatment, yet its unintended consequence is that companies often feel constrained in how far they can go to support the health, inclusion and development of non-permanent workers. In a labour market where freelancers form a critical part of national productivity, this tension is becoming harder to ignore. A modern system may need to recognise both the autonomy of independent workers and the importance of protecting their health, financial stability and ability to participate in workplace culture. 

In other words, wellbeing policy must evolve alongside workforce reality. Employment structures are changing, and the frameworks that govern them will need to change too. 

The workforce is changing. The question now is not only whether organisations can keep up, but whether government can as well; only time will tell.