News

November 20, 2009

Only third of entrepreneurs working longer hours in the recession

Business owners may be struggling to survive the downturn, but only 34 per cent are working longer hours than they were a year ago, research from Alliance & Leicester has revealed.

According to the bank's survey of 300 small firms, just over a third of small-business owners admitted that they are putting in more time than they were in 2008.

The research also found that while 15 per cent were working in excess of 65 hours a week, the average time that business owners spent at work was 47 hours — an hour less than the maximum number of working hours permitted by the European Working Time Directive.

Work-life balance organisation Workwise's chief executive, Phil Flaxton, said that more small-business owners were adopting new ways of working to avoid unnecessarily long stints in the workplace.

"Technology, in particular, has allowed more and more business people to use their time more effectively and not necessarily be based at work all the time," he said.

"Email, smart phones and video-conferencing have really revolutionised working practices in recent years, and as the price of technology has come down a lot, it has become more accessible to small businesses," added Flaxton.

However, Flaxton said that many business owners still found it difficult to reduce their workload, particularly during difficult economic times.

"Often entrepreneurs find it difficult to delegate and they end up taking everything on their shoulders," he said. "But it's important to stand back and pass on responsibilities to others whenever possible, however small the task, otherwise there is a risk of burnout from overwork and stress."