Can psychological safety exist for freelancers?

One of the principles of good mental health at work and high performing teams, has long been "psychological safety", and a number of landmark pieces of research into both productivity and wellbeing show its importance.

It's the ability to speak up with out fear of reprisals, being able to feedback and share your take, respectfully challenge, or make mistakes in a supportive environment.

The best teams, the best leaders and managers, will ensure their people are able to work in an environment where we can be human.

Whilst this is absolutely not a reality for all teams, for many freelancers, being able to provide critical feedback or make mistakes without fear of losing current or future revenues is even further out of reach.

Freelancers often fear providing criticism, should it risk the likelihood of getting further work, and as external specialists, we're brought in to do a good job, and the cost to rectify errors often fall to the freelancer.

Recent data shows the US doubling the size of its freelancer workforce in recent years, and on track to continue to grow. The UK's self-employment figures aren't as explosive, but most of the businesses I speak to are slimming down, and leaning on independent workers to augment their teams and capabilities.

We risk having normalised a way of working with people which is both no longer fit for purpose, and doesn't deliver the best outcomes for both sides of the relationship.

What does the future of mental health at work look like, if one of the pillars of workplace wellbeing is incredibly rare for non-employees?

Or does the concept need to be rethought entirely, in the context of modern work?