Stress levels increasing in family-owned businesses

Stress levels for many business owners climbed during the past year, with the impact thought to be particularly hard on smaller, family-owned businesses.

An international survey of 7400 business owners across 36 economies found that 44 per cent of New Zealand business owners said their stress levels had increased from a year ago, compared with a global average of 56 per cent.

China topped the poll at 76 per cent, with Sweden at a more relaxed 23 per cent.

Peter Sherwin, a partner of Grant Thornton, said the figures for this country masked a growing problem among small, family-owned businesses.

"Pressure on cash flow is the major problem affecting New Zealand businesses at 19 per cent, with heavy workload at 16 per cent being the next most important stress factor," he said.

"Where these pressures really mount is when the owners are also husband and wife or living together. There is just no escape for them. They take home their work problems and over time the pressure becomes too great.

"In many instances family-owned businesses are financed through banks with security against their family home. So when a business starts to under-perform, the pressure on an owner mounts, as not only do they worry about food on the table but also a roof over their family heads."

Business owners in mainland China, Vietnam, Mexico, India and Turkey were high on the stress league table and were working in environments where high growth was expected.

Stress was also particularly high at the other end of the growth scale, in Ireland, Spain and Greece.

"We have business at both ends of the GDP growth scale experiencing high stress for very different reasons," Sherwin said.

"In China the pressure is on to keep up with the pace of expansion, while in Ireland the economy is retracting and business owners are worried about how they will keep their businesses alive."

- NZPA