The survey conducted by Manta is on more than 1,200 small business owners. The results are interesting: Almost half of respondents said that they simply don’t have time to take a break this summer. Moreover, 58 percent of small business owners confessed that they are working more this year compared to last year. The question is, why things are different?
Out of many possibilities, the Manta survey revealed that 2 of the main culprits are highly probable the difficult economic situation (classic!) and… the booming in mobile technology!
Stagnant economy pushes small business owners to do more with less
Sadly but true, small business owners today is some of the busiest people in the world; while job satisfaction may be high, the stress level is also high. According to recent research commissioned by Enterprise Council on Small Business (ECSB,) one third of self-employed people – including small business owners – are working more than 50 hours per week. Along with the fact that 70 percent of Manta’s survey respondents won’t hire new employees this summer, small business owners might need to work longer hours.
Mobile addiction makes things worse?
The mobile world is a strong trend today. As BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) trend is also on the rise, small business owners can now – voluntarily – bring their mobile devices everywhere, even on vacation. Manta’s survey results show some worrying stats: “Thanks” to the availability of mobile technology, 71 percent of small business owners are “eager” to work while on vacation. 68 percent even claimed that they are also working with their mobile devices, along with their computers.
Work addiction? I don’t think so – I personally think it’s mobile addiction (Manta also revealed that 60% small business owners enjoy their vacation more because of their mobile devices.)
Here is the accompanying infographic by Manta to explain and recap things better for you:
Takeaway
Wow. I mean, I know that small business owners are a group of people with strong determination and tenacity for success. But I never thought that skipping vacations or working while on vacation is a strong trend this year.
All of those facts boil down to one big question: Is mobile tech really help small business owners to be more productive or is it simply “sedates” small business owners with all the productivity apps (and games) in such a way that all of those perks will actually backfire and cause severe business and/or personal issues?
So, what do you think? Please share your opinion below…
Ivan Widjaya
Small business trends