Half of Māori business leaders feeling less mentally healthy thanks to Covid

A first-of-its-kind BDO study investigating the link between business performance and mental wellbeing. Image / Supplied

A first-of-its-kind study investigating the link between business performance and mental wellbeing has found that half of the business owners and leaders who identify as Māori are still feeling the strain caused by Covid-19.

Fifty-one per cent of the 99 Māori business leaders who responded to the inaugural BDO Wellbeing in Business Index - Te Rangahau o ngā hauora pai – were feeling less mentally healthy than normal.

Among this group, 56 per cent said the impacts of Covid-19 had caused them to feel less mentally healthy – the highest-ranking cause. Business risks that leaders feel unable to control (34 per cent) ranked second, followed by employee performance or conflict (32 per cent) and external economic and political factors (30 per cent).

Business system and technology challenges also scored highly at 28 per cent - a reflection of poor connectivity in the regions, where many Māori businesses are located.

BDO's Angela Edwards. Photo / Supplied

Angela Edwards, BDO Māori business sector leader, said: "We know that to run a business through a te ao Māori lens means focusing on people and the environment just as much as profit – perhaps this broader focus and people-centric view is helping our Māori business leaders and owners achieve stronger wellbeing.

"That said, we know Māori were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and digital inequality and access to the right people continues to be a challenge for Māori businesses - this is reflected in the survey results."

Analysing the Māori Wellbeing Report. Photo / Supplied

The survey also adopted the World Health Organisation's internationally recognised 'WHO-5' wellbeing index to take a snapshot of wellbeing among New Zealand business owners. The WHO-5 asks respondents to rate how they have been feeling in the past two weeks across five key statements, and calculates a score ranging from 0 (representing the worst possible wellbeing) to 100 (representing the best possible wellbeing).

The WHO-5 score for Māori business was 73 out of 100, 4 points above the whole-of-business average. This suggests that, despite feeling the strain over the past 6 months, there is potentially a degree of resilience among Māori business leaders.

To view the full report go to: https://www.bdo.nz/en-nz/wellbeing-in-business-index/maori-business