Small business owners take shorter holidays, shows survey

Small business owners are struggling with their work-life balance, according to a survey by Zurich.

The survey found that just 43 per cent of businesses have a holiday of no more than five days booked within the next 12 months, whilst some will take no holiday at all as a result of work responsibilities.

Impact

The research, which surveyed over 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, found that 74 per cent of business owners took 25 days or less holiday in 2015, 48 per cent took 20 days or less, and 31 per cent took just 15 days or less.

Business owners of larger companies were found to be less likely to have to hold back on taking time away from work. A survey of around 300 large companies showed that 57 per cent of business owners took 25 days or less holiday last year, 19 per cent took 20 days or less, and 8 per cent took 15 days or less.

The research also found that nearly half of SMEs believe that taking more holidays would have a negative impact on their business, compared to 28 per cent of decision makers of larger businesses.

Freedom

Commenting on the research, Zurich UK Head of SME Propositions, Anne Griffiths, stated that employees of larger businesses are reporting the freedom to have more holiday without business operations being affected, whilst smaller businesses are “really feeling the strain” in the holiday season.

“It is imperative that small business owners are making use of all the support available to them to make sure their businesses are healthy and stable enough to take some well-deserved time off,” she added.