News

December 18, 2009

Entrepreneurs neglecting health to run firms, warns Abbey

More than a quarter of small-business owners are putting their health at risk by prioritising work over medical appointments, research from Abbey and Alliance & Leicester has shown.

According to the survey, 26 per cent of small-business owners have missed, cancelled or put-off health appointments in the last year due to work commitments.

“The tough economic climate is forcing many entrepreneurs to work incredibly hard at the moment, with a significant percentage of them working above the maximum number of hours permitted by the European Working Time Directive,” said Abbey head of business banking marketing, Paula Ickinger.

“However, missed health appointments for the sake of a heavy workload can be counter-productive in the long run,” she added. “Small-business owners should find a way of managing their work-life balance, taking the pressure off themselves a little and ensuring they don’t sacrifice their health for their wealth.”

Work Life Balance Centre director, Julie Hurst, said that business owners should factor their health into their business priorities.

“Business owners should work out all their tasks for the week, including private appointments, and allocate all of those things to their own dedicated time slots,” she said. “It is often a lot less hassle to get a health issue sorted than to wait until it becomes more serious.”

The survey also revealed that small-business owners with more staff found it the most difficult to find time to attend appointments.

“Employers with more staff feel that more people are dependent on them, but if they think about it logically, the more people that depend on you the more important it is to take care of yourself so you don’t let them down,” said Hurst.

Institute of Occupational Safety and Health senior policy and technical adviser, Kathryn Bellamy, said that although an employer’s health is not a legal issue, it can impact on the business.

“Though there is no legislation which states that a business owner could be fined for not looking after their health, it makes good business sense to look after yourself,” she said. “They need to ask themselves what would be the effect on staff morale and efficiency if their leader was to fall sick.”