Survey: bosses find it hard to take breaks

TWO out of three small business owners in Ireland contact their office while on annual leave with most doing so from the beach or swimming pool.

The latest O2 Ireland small and medium enterprise (SME) lifestyle survey also found that almost one in three business owners surveyed do not take their full entitlement to annual leave.

“Our survey continues to paint a picture of hard working entrepreneurs who work longer hours than their employees, bring work home and find it hard to switch off, even on holiday,” said Billy D’Arcy, head of business sales and services at O2 Ireland.

The survey also said that one in three owner managers work more hours than is legally allowed, with many working over 51 hours a week. Three quarters of those surveyed work at weekends, and of these, the majority work at weekends more than once a month.

Over half of those surveyed bring work home in the evenings, while almost a quarter bring work home every day. Also just over one in three people said they missed family events due to work commitments.

“The O2 survey results suggest that many owner managers find it hard to switch off but this by itself is not necessarily unhealthy,” said Dr Joan Tiernan, UCD School of Psychology.

“Research finds that the biggest cause of stress in the workplace is reporting into a boss. Owner managers in small and medium sized businesses, while they have other stresses, generally value the freedom which their work brings them. It is important, however, to be able to switch off and build in recovery time even if you enjoy work,” she added.