News
Small business owners in the UK ‘work fewest hours’
24 - 10 - 2013
Small business owners in the UK work fewer hours than those in the US, Germany, France, Netherlands or Spain, new research has uncovered.
A survey, funded by business insurer Hiscox, of 500 small businesses in the six countries found that the average UK small business owner worked 37.6 hours, compared with an average of over 41 hours.
Thirty-eight per cent of the 3,000 entrepreneurs surveyed across the six countries said they were optimistic about the year ahead, down 10% from last year.
Only 10% of those polled said they planned to taken on staff in the coming year.
However, the number of businesses claiming that they would not have to make redundancies this year rose from 60% to 63%.
The report commented that people become entrepreneurs for many reasons aside from money.
‘[People] value the freedom, autonomy and lifestyle changes that running their own business can bring,’ the report said.
Seventy-eight per cent of small business owners reported a difficulty accessing funding to start up new businesses. UK respondents were the only ones who reported that finding capital had been easier this year compared to last year.
Chief executive of Hiscox, Bronek Masojada said that the report illustrated that small businesses are adapting to difficult economic conditions.
‘Our research findings support the idea that small businesses are adapting to 'the new normal', anticipating tough trading conditions rather than expecting any early return to the boom years of the last decade,’ he said.
