Self-Employed Workers with Disabilities: Be Aware of the Risk of Burnout
In France, nearly 80,000 people with disabilities are self-employed under the status of “self-employed worker with a disability” (TIH), a category recognized only since 2016. This choice, which is often made out of necessity, comes at a cost that is rarely taken into account: their health. A study we conducted among 126 of these self-employed workers reveals one of the highest risks of burnout ever observed in France by our observatory—even higher than that of farmers, who until now had been at the top of the list of the most at-risk groups.
Christel Tessier Dargent, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne; Mathieu Le Moal, University of Montpellier and Olivier Torrès, University of Montpellier
THE ESSENTIALS
- Many people with disabilities are self-employed out of necessity as much as by choice.
- This solution is far from ideal, as it has numerous negative impacts on mental and physical health.
- Public policy is all the more necessary given that entrepreneurship has significant positive impacts on this population, which often faces discrimination in the workplace.
Disability affects 16% of the world’s population, or 1.3 billion people. In France, one in two people will experience a disability—whether temporarily or permanently—at some point in their lives. However, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in France remains significantly higher than the national average (11.5% versus 7.7% in 2025). When the doors to the workforce close—due to hiring discrimination, workplace stigma, the glass ceiling, or a lack of reasonable accommodations—many create their own jobs, out of necessity rather than opportunity. Yet, despite the rhetoric, this “inclusive” entrepreneurship remains a blind spot in public policy.
Less than 3,000 euros in annual revenue
Who are they? They are older (average age of 47.5), more often women (64%), and better educated (61% have at least a master’s degree) than the average self-employed person; three-quarters of the TIHs surveyed work from home, and most earn a meager income, as 43% report annual revenue of less than 3,000 euros—evidence of businesses that are fairly sustainable but not very profitable.
To what extent, and under what conditions, is this professional activity “salutogenic”—that is, positive—or, on the contrary, a threat to the physical and mental health of people with disabilities? To find out, we asked these entrepreneurs what exhausts them and what fulfills them. The answer lies in a delicate balance: disability “hampers” the entrepreneurial journey of people with disabilities, but “entrepreneurial spirit” can be a source of well-being and fulfillment in an empowering environment.
A high risk of burnout
On the BMS-10 burnout reference scale, which ranges from 1 to 7, the self-employed individuals with disabilities surveyed scored an average of 4.22. By comparison, SME executives tracked by the Amarok Observatory score around 3.4, and farmers—who have been the most affected group to date— score around 3.82. Most importantly, 42.1% of self-employed people with disabilities are at a confirmed risk of burnout, and 17.5% are at a severe risk. Their quality of life, as well as their perceived physical and mental health, is generally low.
Not all entrepreneurial journeys are the same. In our sample, 65% started their businesses out of necessity, for lack of other career options. However, it is precisely this “forced” entrepreneurship that is associated with burnout, whereas “chosen” entrepreneurship—driven by opportunity—goes hand in hand with greater well-being.
In addition to the pressures common to all self-employed individuals (cash flow, client acquisition, isolation, etc.), there are constraints specific to disability. The elimination of certain benefits makes income uncertain; the administrative burden—marked by complexity and uncertainty—is growing heavier, between dealing with Urssaf, the Departmental Office for People with Disabilities, and Cap Emploi; and stigma and discrimination persist.
“When it comes to integration, there are still a lot of prejudices—mostly stemming from a lack of understanding,” Laura says.
As for the disability itself, it hinders productivity: chronic pain, fatigue, and days when it becomes impossible to work.
The Importance of Local Support
The entrepreneurial journeys of people with disabilities rely on essential sources of support, such as family, peers, or organizations, because the “traditional” entrepreneurial ecosystem is ill-suited to meeting their specific needs, as highlighted by the quotes from our study: the venues and programs intended to support entrepreneurs remain largely inaccessible.
Paul, who is visually impaired, “regularly gets lost at Station F”; Jessica, who is deaf, explains angrily that she was “excluded from a key training session because there was no interpreter.” Added to this is isolation, which increases the risk of burnout and worsens perceived mental health, without necessarily affecting overall well-being—as if a form of habituation were setting in. *https://www.youtube.com/embed/WEHQePIMdHg?wmode=transparent&start=0* Public Sénat, 2025.
Self-employment, however, offers powerful tools for improving the health of people with chronic illnesses. The flexibility of self-employment allows individuals to adjust their pace according to changes in their condition: work schedules, breaks, working from home, reducing travel, adapting their workspace, and choosing clients. Added to this are the sense of recognition, the pride in completed projects, a renewed sense of purpose, new connections and support networks, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
“It’s my way of getting even with life,” Marc sums it up.
A source of fulfillment despite everything?
All of these are signs that entrepreneurship can promote physical and mental well-being, provided the environment allows for it. One statistic illustrates this point: for nearly nine out of ten respondents (88.9%), work plays an existential role at the core of their identity.
These results remain “correlational”: only long-term follow-up—which we are initiating—will make it possible to establish cause-and-effect relationships. The warning, however, is unambiguous.
Protecting the health of entrepreneurs with disabilities requires concrete measures: simplifying administrative procedures, ensuring a stable income that promotes independence, raising awareness among clients and institutions about the realities of disability—including invisible disabilities—and building support networks and tools that are truly accessible to all, without relegating these entrepreneurs to separate systems. One question remains: How much more talent will our society allow to be wasted due to the lack of an ecosystem tailored to their needs?
Christel Tessier Dargent, Associate Professor, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne; Mathieu Le Moal, Associate Research Scientist, University of Montpellier and Olivier Torrès, Founder of Amarok, a health monitoring organization for executives, University Professor, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.