Small business owners are twice as likely to love their jobs than full-time employees of other businesses, according to a new report looking at the differences between the two groups.
A survey by Vistaprint showed that while just 14.4 per cent of full-time employees love their jobs, 29.6 per cent of SME owners strongly agree that they feel fulfilled in what they do.
Meanwhile, 45.8 per cent of people who own their businesses feel passionate about their work, compared to just 16.3 per cent of other workers.
And 45.8 per cent of small business owners said that they feel independent, compared to 31.8 per cent of full-time employees in other roles.
Another key difference between the two groups was in job flexibility, where 39.4 per cent of SME owners felt their jobs were flexible compared to 29.9 per cent of other workers.
In fact, small business owners were also more likely to work fewer hours – their average week was 33.3 hours long, compared to other employees’ average of 39.4 hours.
This flexibility came at a price, though, as 17.8 per cent of business owners reported working outside of normal office hours, compared to 8.8 per cent of full-time workers.
But the report found that while the number of hours worked by normal workers increased with age, the number of hours worked by business owners decreased.
When questioned about their motivations for working, small business owners were more likely to cite their love of their jobs or their work-life balance.
As respondents got older, the report found, money became less of a career motivator, while work life balance and love of the job become more of a motivation.
The survey also looked at where in the UK entrepreneurs were based, with the highest density of small business owners living in the south east.
More than half of those who would like to start their own businesses have plans to do so in the next five years, the report said.
For more from the survey, see the Vistaprint website.
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