Small businesses set for a very busy Christmas

The study, undertaken by Abbey business, found that holidays barely featured in the lives of many entrepreneurs, with 42 per cent taking less than two weeks off a year.

Over four in ten of those quizzed said that they worked over the weekend, while 21 per cent were at the workplace for 66 hours or more a week.

The survey found that the average number of hours worked a week by small business bosses was 54, even though just 13 per cent of the entire UK workforce put in the same amount of time.

Abbey said that the trend is likely to continue over Christmas, with many entrepreneurs unable to take time off because of work pressures.

The research revealed that bosses in the North West worked the hardest, putting in an average of 56 hours a week. The average entrepreneur in London and the South East worked 52 hours.

As reported by Startups.co.uk, previous studies have shown that UK staff work the longest hours in Europe, with employees on the continent also enjoying longer periods of holiday than their British counterparts.

The ‘long hours culture’ in Britain has been blamed for an increase in stress levels in UK workplaces – a problem which costs the economy an estimated £1.24 billion in absences.

Michael Campbell, marketing director at Abbey business, said that small firms work extremely long hours in order to succeed.

“This could be because they don’t have enough staff on board to delegate to or because they are worrying about the financial side of the business.

“Seasonal businesses such as hotels and guesthouses, pubs and shops will obviously be extremely busy over Christmas, but many other small business bosses will also feel they need to work over this period just to keep afloat.

“Whilst its understandable that small firms are putting in long hours, everyone deserves a break, especially over Christmas.

“Getting certain things in order, such as the businesses finances, should help make things easier,” he said.