Does anyone else find the isolation harder than they expected?

#1 · June 8, 2026, 11:26 am

Nobody talks about this enough. You join a team, get to know people, find your rhythm — and then the contract ends and you start again from scratch somewhere else.
After about five years of contracting I started to notice it taking a toll. No continuity, no real work friendships, always the outsider.
Ended up joining a local running club which sounds daft but it helped enormously. Same faces every week regardless of where I was contracted.
How do others handle the social side of contracting life?

#2 · June 8, 2026, 5:20 pm

The running club idea is spot on. I joined a five-a-side football group about eight years ago for exactly the same reason. Nothing to do with football really — just the same faces every Thursday regardless of what contract I was on.