Loneliness among freelancers ‘costing UK film and TV industry up to £400m a year’
New research in the UK has revealed loneliness among freelancers is driving poor mental health, which could be costing the country’s film and TV industry up to £400m (US$543m) a year.
The Film & TV Charity, in partnership with The Centre for Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, has today published new research into the relationship between mental health and loneliness.
The Film & TV Charity said it reveals for the first time that disproportionately high levels of loneliness experienced by people working behind the scenes in film and TV is a key driver of poor mental health, potentially costing the industry hundreds of million pounds a year
The charity’s Looking Glass research, conducted over five years, has consistently shown significantly higher levels of loneliness and poor mental health among behind-the-scenes workers compared with the general population.
The most recent Looking Glass survey from 2024 shows that 35% of respondents reported their mental health as poor or very poor compared to a national average of 18%, with 30% often feeling lonely compared to a national average of only 8%.
The latest research identifies for the first time, and with robust evidence, that experiences of loneliness in the industry are strongly influenced by work-related factors, including but not limited to: a culture of long and irregular working hours; the transient nature of project-based employment; industry issues of bullying, harassment, and discrimination; persistent stigma around loneliness and mental health at work which prevents people from speaking up and seeking support; and workers from underrepresented and disempowered backgrounds feeling invisible.
As well as a huge personal cost, loneliness is also likely to be having a very significant economic impact on the industry.
Combining 2024 figures from Deloitte and DCMS, the charity said it seems likely that the cost to the film and TV industry of poor mental health among its workforce may be as much as £400m a year.
It added the relationship between loneliness and poor mental health highlighted in the research endorses the idea that loneliness may account for a significant part of that sum.
The findings support existing efforts to address poor mental health in the sector but strongly suggests that tackling loneliness should be a key part of this approach.
The research makes several recommendations to mitigate the impact of workplace loneliness.
These include employers maintaining communication and relationships with freelancers after and between projects; measuring and tracking loneliness such as through workplace wellbeing surveys; the creation of inclusive opportunities for meaningful workplace connections; and formal ‘buddy’ and peer support systems.
It comes after the Film & TV Charity highlighted a pressing need to address the underlying causes behind worsening mental health in the UK film and TV industry earlier this year.
Marcus Ryder, CEO at The Film & TV Charity, said: “Today’s findings, which build on research first presented in our 2022 Mind-Craft report, have significant implications not just for the screen sector but for the wider workforce, especially with freelancing becoming increasingly common.
“With the creative industries often described as both the original gig economy and the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for workforce issues affecting freelancers, this research should be of critical significance for policymakers across multiple sectors.
“It should also act as a catalyst for important work to eradicate stigma around these kinds of conversations to ensure that there’s an industry-wide focus on changing things for the better rather than simply expecting individuals to ‘be more resilient.'”
Andrea Wigfield, professor of applied social and policy research at Sheffield Hallam University, director at The Centre for Loneliness Studies, and co-director, Campaign to End Loneliness, said: “Despite the fact that we all spend so much of our lives working and there is a growing global concern around the public health impacts of loneliness, there is still relatively little research in this field.
“Furthermore, sectors such as the film and TV industry that are reliant on a freelance workforce have been largely overlooked. This new report makes a significant contribution to this field of study, and we hope it will be of great value, not only to policy makers working in film and TV, but to those with responsibility for the workforce as a whole.”
