1-in-10 small business owners take no holidays

Many people will be heading back to work this week, but spare a thought for the thousands of small business owners who skipped taking a break this year according to accounting software provider MYOB.

The latest MYOB Business Monitor survey of more than 1,000 small business owners around New Zealand reveals that 13 percent have not taken a holiday in the last 12 months.

“This is a busy and stressful time of year for many business owners,” says MYOB Head of Small Business Ingrid Cronin-Knight.

“We know how hard these people work so it was no surprise to see how many miss out on taking a holiday during the year. Keeping a small business running can be a challenge.”

The survey also found that 7 percent took less than one week worth of holidays, 7 percent took 1 week, 18 percent took 2 weeks, 17 percent took 3 week and 13 percent took 4 weeks leave.

However, it’s not all bad news, with almost a quarter (24 percent) taking more than a month off.

Ms Cronin-Knight puts that down to the flexibility that some owners have and the fact that many have started their small business to get a better work/life balance.

“Our survey found that 71 percent of SME owners were satisfied with their work/life balance, with 14 percent dissatisfied,” she says.

“MYOB has been helping New Zealand’s SME owners to succeed for more than 25 years. We understand owning your own business can be a richly rewarding experience, but it can also be a challenging one.

“We encourage SME owners to make sure they’re getting down time they need. It’s important you don’t burnout, because that can be devastating for you and your business.

“For those taking some time off over the holiday period, this is a great time to reflect on your operations and plan for the year ahead,” says Ms Cronin-Knight.

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For further comment or other information please contact:

Conor Roberts, MYOB NZ Communications and Public Affairs

M: 021 124 6004 / E: conor.roberts@myob.com
 

Gerard Blank, The Agency Communications Limited Director

P: 03 341 5841 / M: 0275 243 629 / E: gerard@theagencynz.co.nz

About MYOB

MYOB (ASX:MYO) is a leading cloud based business management solutions provider. It makes business life easier for approximately 1.2 million businesses across Australia and New Zealand by simplifying accounting, payroll, tax, practice management, CRM, websites, job costing, inventory and more. MYOB provides ongoing support via many client service channels including a network of over 40,000 accountants, bookkeepers and other consultants. It is committed to ongoing innovation, particularly in cloud computing solutions, and in 2015 was awarded the BRW award for the most innovative large company for 500+ employees and placed 2nd in BRW’s Most Innovative Companies Award list across all categories nationally. For more information, visit myob.co.nz or follow @MYOB on Twitter.