In brief
- Urssaf counted 3.031 million self-employed micro-entrepreneur accounts at the end of 2025.
- Remote work isolates: 25% of fully remote employees say they felt lonely the previous day, compared with 16% of those on site (Gallup, 2024).
- The habits that work are simple: get out of the house, see peers on fixed dates, share meals.
- Eating together is linked to more trust and more friends to rely on (University of Oxford, 2017).
Working alone has real advantages: freedom, focus, choosing your clients. But without colleagues, connection no longer happens by itself. You have to plan for it, just as you plan your invoicing. Here is what the figures say, and seven practical habits to avoid shutting yourself away.
Isolation among independents in figures
Few studies directly measure loneliness among freelancers in France. Here are the solid figures we found, along with their limits.
- The numbers. At the end of December 2025, Urssaf counted 3.031 million micro-entrepreneur accounts, of which 1.66 million were economically active.
- The loneliness of the job. In a 2021 Ipsos survey for the French umbrella-employment (portage salarial) trade body, covering 350 independents providing intellectual services, around one in four named “the loneliness of being independent” among their difficulties. The main ones remain unstable income and finding clients.
- Business leaders too. According to Bpifrance Le Lab, 49% of heads of small and mid-sized companies said they felt isolated in 2026, compared with 45% in 2016. They are not freelancers, but the picture is similar.
- The general population. The Fondation de France (Solitudes 2025 survey) finds that 24% of French people feel lonely, and 25% of those in work.
- Remote work. Gallup (2024) measures loneliness at 25% among fully remote employees, compared with 16% among those who work on site.
- Health. According to the World Health Organization (2025), one person in six worldwide is affected by loneliness, which is linked to more than 871,000 deaths a year.
Isolation or loneliness: not the same thing
The Fondation de France makes a useful distinction.
- Isolation is a situation: few ties within family, friendships, work or the neighbourhood.
- Loneliness is a feeling: the sense that your relationships are not enough.
You can see plenty of people and still feel lonely: client calls all day, but nobody to talk shop with. The habits below address both.
7 habits that work
1. Leave home for two half-days a week
A coworking space, a quiet café, a library. The point is not productivity: it is seeing faces. Block out the slots in your diary, as you would a client meeting.
2. A regular meeting with peers
Connection is built through repetition. A one-off meeting leaves a good memory; a meeting every week or every month creates relationships. Stick with a format for three months before judging it.
3. A work buddy
Find another independent in a neighbouring field. Thirty minutes a week: what you have done, what is blocking you, what you are aiming for. It is simple, free, and it replaces the team catch-up you no longer have.
4. Share meals, regularly
Lunch with someone once a week changes the whole week. The next section explains why.
5. Join a collective or a club
A freelance collective, a neighbourhood group, a running or dinner club. What matters is seeing the same people again. A network where everyone only turns up once does not protect you from isolation.
6. Really switch off
Never-ending days isolate too. Set a finishing time, go for a walk at lunchtime, take up a group activity.
7. Watch for the signs
For one week, count your conversations that are not about work. If the number is close to zero, it is time to act. If loneliness is affecting your sleep or your mood, talk to your doctor. If you are in distress, 3114, France’s national suicide prevention line, answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Why the table matters
Researchers at the University of Oxford studied the effect of shared meals using a large British survey (Dunbar, 2017). Their conclusion: people who eat with others more often say they are happier and more satisfied with their lives, trust others more and have more friends they can rely on. According to the authors, the effect runs from the shared meal to the connection, not the other way round.
Social connection also weighs on health. A meta-analysis of 148 studies (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010, more than 300,000 participants) links stronger social relationships to a 50% greater likelihood of survival.
Why a meal rather than a drink standing up?
- You stay seated. Nobody leaves after ten minutes.
- The pace is slow. Starter, main, dessert: conversations have time to go beyond work.
- The setting is fixed. The same neighbours all evening, so real conversations.
That is the idea behind Tablez Club: tables of 8 to 10 independents, put together according to what each person is looking for, with no pitch and no badge. The dinner takes place on Thursday evenings (the dinner format), the lunch on Tuesdays at 12:30 pm, lasting 60 to 75 minutes.
A sample week against isolation
Here is a realistic routine for an independent in Paris. Adapt the days, keep the principle.
- Monday: a morning in a coworking space or a café. Plan the week.
- Tuesday: lunch with a peer, a former colleague or a lunch table (the lunch format).
- Wednesday: a thirty-minute catch-up with your work buddy.
- Thursday: a Tablez Club dinner or an event in your community, two or three times a month.
- Friday: a fixed finishing time, a group activity or an outing unrelated to work.
Five contacts a week, two of them over a meal. It is modest, and it is sustainable.
If you would like to start with a table, the dates are on upcoming tables, and the application takes a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How many freelancers feel lonely in France?
There is no recent, dedicated measure. In a 2021 Ipsos survey of 350 independents, around one in four named loneliness among their difficulties. Among heads of small and mid-sized companies, Bpifrance Le Lab measured 49% feeling isolated in 2026.
Is coworking enough to beat isolation?
It helps you get out of the house. But working next to someone does not always create a connection. Add a regular meeting with peers, a lunch or a dinner.
Why do shared meals help?
A University of Oxford study (2017) links them to greater life satisfaction, more trust and more friends to rely on. A meal gives you time, and a simple reason to meet again.
Sources
- Urssaf, “Auto-entrepreneurs”, July 2026: https://www.urssaf.org/accueil/statistiques/nos-etudes-et-analyses/travailleurs-independants/nationale/2026/auto-entrepreneurs-Juil2026.html
- Ipsos for PEPS, “Le freelancing en France en 2021” (copy hosted by 2iportage): https://www.2iportage.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Le-freelancing-en-France-en-2021.pdf
- Bpifrance Le Lab, loneliness among heads of small and mid-sized companies, 2026: https://lelab.bpifrance.fr/le-nouveau-visage-de-la-solitude-des-dirigeants-de-pme-entre-incertitudes-et-quete-de-sens/
- Fondation de France, Solitudes 2025 press release: https://www.fondationdefrance.org/images/pdf/2026/CP_Solitudes_2025.pdf
- Gallup, “Employees Worldwide Feel Lonely”, 2024: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/645566/employees-worldwide-feel-lonely.aspx
- World Health Organization, commission on social connection, 2025: https://www.who.int/news/item/30-06-2025-social-connection-linked-to-improved-heath-and-reduced-risk-of-early-death
- Dunbar, “Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating”, 2017: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f9c3317e-b18c-42f4-85da-c93a6b9f245e
- Holt-Lunstad et al., PLoS Medicine, 2010: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
- 3114, France’s national suicide prevention line: https://3114.fr