Cost of living crisis forces 70 per cent of small business owners to spend less time with family

Seven out of 10 small business owners (70%) have spent less time with family and friends while facing challenges caused by the cost-of-living crisis, according to a survey.

Nearly half of the entrepreneurs (46.6%) said their work/life balance had changed over the past 12 months and over one third (34%) said they have been forced to spend less time with a partner.

Before the cost-of-living crisis began just 23 per cent said they had stopped working at Christmas but 10 per cent more small businesses are set to close so owners can take a break.

Just over 60 per cent of 1,200 small business owners polled said spending time with family and friends was the best way to cope with stress during the busy Christmas period.

Exercise was the second most popular choice (49%) and 40 per cent of those polled said walking helped with stress.

“Our team have called the rise in small business owners taking time off at Christmas ‘The Bob Cratchit Effect’,” Lee Murphy, managing director of The Accountancy Partnership, who are based on Wirral, said.

“Cratchit pleads with his miserly boss Scrooge for time off to spend with his family in Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. The research suggests we are a nation of Cratchit’s and despite the concerns caused by the cost-of-living crisis, the ways of Scrooge have not been adopted.”

Mental health issues are a serious concern with anxiety being a condition 45 per cent said they suffered to cope with while running their business.

Four in 10 admitted to suffering from burnout and 22 per cent had struggled with insomnia.

A bleak statistic from the survey by The Accountancy Partnership revealed 30 per cent of small business owners have become socially withdrawn because of running a business.

While 70.6 per cent said coping strategies hadn’t changed, there has been an increase in keeping fit for 54 per cent and 28 per cent said they had started to practice meditation to beat stress.

Hopes of a fresh start in the new year seem to be fading as falling sales haunt 53.6% of small business owners, with 44% concerned about inflation.

Increased business rates are a concern for 26.7 per cent and 25 per cent admitted to being worried about rising energy costs.

Sarah Merrington, head of the Mental Health at Work programme at Mind, said: “We know it can be difficult to prioritise your mental health.

“If you’re a small business owner, you don't have the support of employer mental health services and might have little time to spare to focus on yourself.

“The results expose a mental health crisis, with over half of respondents struggling with poor mental health in the last year, many experiencing insomnia, working long hours, and very rarely taking breaks - it’s a recipe for burnout.

“It's so important that self-employed people have somewhere to go for help.

“That's why, together with Simply Business, we have set up a free mental health hub which provides accessible, bespoke support, to enable the self-employed to make positive changes to their mental health.”