Bifalgorithm post · IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573 · 4.1. Going It Alone: Sole Proprietorships*

How does work-life balance affect small business owners and their employees?

How does work-life balance affect small business owners and their employees? (IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573 · 4.1. Going It Alone: Sole…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • Small business ownership combines demanding work with personal rewards and leadership implications.
  • Owners report both satisfaction and challenges in their ownership experience.
  • Owners face demanding work schedules.
  • About two-thirds of owners are satisfied with their personal work-life balance.
  • The stress of ownership was worse than originally imagined for 62 percent of respondents.
  • Ownership offers control over one’s destiny, freedom, and greater-than-expected rewards.
  • Almost 90 percent of owners are satisfied with being small business owners in general.
  • Owners often work substantially longer hours than regular employees.
  • The New York Enterprise Report found that owners work twice as much as regular employees.
  • Thirty-three percent of owners work more than 50 hours per week.
  • Twenty-five percent report working more than 60 hours per week.
  • A Gallup survey found that 39 percent of owners work more than 60 hours per week.
  • Working hard and long is described as natural for people willing to start their own businesses.
  • Employees’ work-life balance affects their confidence in their leaders.
  • Employees with a positive home-work balance are 11 percent more likely to praise leaders’ ability to set a clear direction.
  • SHRM research also shows that work-life balance strongly affects how employees feel about their leaders.
  • Work-life balance and employee satisfaction are expected to become increasingly important as companies seek higher productivity.
  • Happy employees can produce positive business returns.
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How does work-life balance affect small business owners and their employees?

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IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573

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"According to a survey released by the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, about two-thirds of small business owners are satisfied with how they balance their personal lives and work schedules, and the New York Enterprise Report survey found that they work twice as much as regular employees. The survey also found that 33 percent of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week, while 25 percent reported working over 60 hours per week. A survey by Gallup finds 39 percent of small business owners working over 60 hours per week. The 2016 Annual Bank of the West Small Business Growth Survey found that 62 percent of the respondents reported the stress of ownership as worse than what they had originally imagined. At the same time, the same people indicated that being a small business owner puts them in charge of their destiny, offers freedom, and is more rewarding than ever imagined. Over two-thirds of small business owners, according to a survey, said they were satisfied with their personal work-life balance, and almost 90 percent said they were satisfied with being a small business owner in general. Dennis Jacobe, chief economist at Gallup, argues, “People see the benefits more closely tied to them when they’re the owner,” he says. “Working hard and long is a natural aspect of the kind of people willing to start their own business.” But if employees have trouble balancing work and life, odds are they will have less confidence in you as a leader, a recent study shows. The study, which polled more than 50,000 U.S. workers from various markets including professional services, consumer goods, and financial services, found that employees who strike a positive balance between home and work were 11 percent more likely to praise their leaders’ ability to set a clear direction. The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) research also shows work-life balance has a great impact on how employees feel about their leaders. Jennifer Schramm, a manager in SHRM’s workplace trends and forecasting research department, predicts that as companies try to maximize the productivity of each employee, work-life balance and the resulting employee satisfaction will become increasingly more important. And research shows that happy employees can yield happy returns for businesses."

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