The mental health of entrepreneurs has been challenged by managing two years of a pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of small business owners say they are “closer to burnout than ever before.”
This is the end of a series of surveys conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) on its members since the pandemic began. The results are evaluated in the report On the edge of the ravine : mental health in SME Canadianannounced on Tuesday.
The situation is worrying, said Jasmin Guénette, vice-president for national affairs CFIB. It’s exhausting, in normal times, to manage your own small businesshe said in an interview.
” The owner of a SMEhe is often in charge of all operations within an organization. “
The pandemic added additional stress for entrepreneurs, the found CFIB which has been evaluating its members on their mental health since 2018. Many entrepreneurs needed debt to overcome the crisis. On average, the SME Canadians owed nearly $ 160,000 because of the pandemic. The owners of SME find themselves working very long hours to keep their business afloat in very difficult conditions.
Not surprisingly, the report shows that the mental health of owners is more vulnerable in companies finding themselves in a more difficult position due to the pandemic. Owners who say they are closest to burnout are less likely to run a business that has fully resumed operations, recalled all employees, or seen a threshold. normal of income.
Owners and employees often see themselves in the same frame of mind within the same company. To contractors close to burnout75% of them to say they know that at least one of their employees has mental health doubtful.
For all owners of SME, this rate is 54%. In 2020, only 35% of owners SME there was such concern.
Falling taboos
Mr. Guénette still sees good news in the owners ’responses. He said entrepreneurs and employees are especially open to the idea of talking about mental health.
Seven out of 10 business owners say they are comfortable discussing the topic with their employees. Barriers also fall on employees, where six in ten are comfortable discussing the topic with their employer.
Showing openness doesn’t mean you think you’re willing to support your employees. Only 31% of owners SME consider themselves well-prepared to deal with the mental health problems of their employees, compared to half of them who believe they are not prepared. Of course, this is a challenge for the owners SME : they are not mental health specialists.
Source: Radio-Canada
