A global survey conducted by Sage has revealed that the UK’s small and medium business owners contribute a staggering £157bn to the ‘after-hours’ economy. They are working far above the industry norm in terms of number of hours.    

All this extra time ‘at the coalface’ means that love, family and fun often end up getting sacrificed for the sake of the business. In fact, only 1 in 10 of the business owners surveyed said the ‘cost’ had been worth it.

This is sad because in many cases the very reason people take the plunge to set up on their own is so that they can be in charge, be their own boss and spend more time with their families. However, it appears that this long-sought after independence and freedom get compromised time after time.   

Although UK business owners do undoubtedly work exceptionally long hours to turn their dream business idea into a reality, they do, in fact, achieve a better work/life balance than the global average. Only 38% work more than 40 hours a week whereas  57% of entrepreneurs do the same in Germany and the global average works out at 46%.

So what motivates them to work all these extra hours? The following factors were cited:  

• 31% felt fuelled by a love of what they do
• 38% were motivated by a sense of achievement
• 11% were driven by the fact they were running a family business  
• 11%  were building a business to pass on to their children

One common denominator was the entrepreneurial spirit, which meant business owners were prepared to work all these often  unseen additional hours, contributing a vast amount to the global economy.   

Stephen Kelly, CEO of Sage, commented: “We know it takes hard work and human sacrifice to turn a dream business idea into a way of life. This survey highlights the extent of that commitment… we should do all we can to support these heroes and recognise all those hours of hard work they are putting in after the rest of the world has gone home.”  

However, the idea of a work/life balance doesn’t have to be an unattainable and idealistic proposition. It’s important to keep an eye on the scales of leisure and commerce so that the the original reason for setting up on your own doesn’t get completely submerged.    

We are often told that money is our most valuable resource, however we believe that actually time is more valuable. Time with our families and loved ones, time spent doing the things that we love to do.

Money is often an enabler in the pursuit of a better work / life balance and we regularly work with business owners to help them to achieve their desired balance between work and play.

If you would like more time with your family, doing the things away from work that you love to do, give us a call and see how we can help you.