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Local entrepreneurs report lower overall life satisfaction than comparable nations, a Xero survey reveals.
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Aussie small business owners fare worse than peers overseas
27 April 2023
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Australia’s small business owners fare worse than their counterparts overseas when it comes to wellbeing, research by Xero finds.
Its survey showed small business owners in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa had higher levels of life satisfaction than those in Australia, who came above only the UK respondents.
This was despite just one in six Australian small business owners experiencing financial stress – a figure lower than most of the other countries surveyed.
Xero Australia country manager Will Buckley said the research showed Australian small businesses owners needed more support.
“The stress on business owners to manage different challenges is taking its toll on individuals so we should be continually looking at ways to ease some of the burdens in order to help small businesses thrive,” he said.
The research also highlighted differences between younger and older small business owners, with all seven countries showing those under 30 were more likely to be experiencing financial distress and concern over their employees' wellbeing.
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Other contributors to small business owner wellbeing included work stress spilling over into personal lives; the ability of a small business owner to take time to rest and recover; undertaking fulfilling work; and access to affordable counselling or peer support.
The chair of small business organisation COSBOA, Matthew Addison, welcomed the report as shining a light on the pressures his members faced during “years of uncertainty and an increasingly volatile operating environment”.
“The demands placed on small businesses have increased significantly and it is important to understand the toll on their health and wellbeing,” he said.
“For small businesses to have the best chance to thrive, governments and policy-makers must prioritise changes that make doing business seamless and easy, to reduce the load on small business owners.”
The chief community officer at welfare organisation Beyond Blue, Patrice O’Brien, urged owners who were struggling to seek support.
“Running a business can be stressful at times and we see all too often the pressures it can put on small business owners and their families,” she said.
She said Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners program was run by mental health coaches with a small business background who understood the unique challenges.
“The program helps equip Australians with tools and healthy coping strategies to manage the everyday stressors of running a small business,” she said.
The survey quizzed 4,600 small business owners, including 900 from Australia, from November 2022 to February 2023 and used the World Health Organisation’s Five Well-Being Index framework. The survey encompassed Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the US.
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