Of the 2.4 million businesses in Australia, 98 per cent are small-to-medium-sized enterprises. Nearly two-thirds are sole traders, self-employed hard-working individuals who wear many hats – founder, CEO, CMO, store manager and more – and are passionate about helping people and creating something of their own.
Although they are motivated by passion, it is challenging for one person to be all of those things. Small-business owners typically spend the majority of their time planning their operations, leaving little time for healthy work-life harmony. As a result, they may feel extremely stressed and burnt out.
While you may have already experienced these warning signs, it can be challenging to identify and treat burnout when you’re in the middle of it. So what is burnout exactly?
Talking about burnout
While the term “burnout” has only recently gained popularity, its effects are common. Burnout is something that many people can relate to because the symptoms include lack of interest, decreased satisfaction, exhaustion, tension, and other things.
But while these feelings are very relatable, for small-business owners the burden can be greater than normal, handling immense pressure on a day-to-day basis. A 2020 survey found one in three small-business owners reported a diagnosis of either stress, depression or anxiety.
Here are some ways to manage and prevent burnout:
- Assess your situation
It’s not uncommon for business owners to find themselves isolated. But while it may seem like you’re unable to take the time, it’s important to take a step back to assess the reality of a situation if you’re feeling stressed.
Asking questions such as “where are my biggest pain points?” can help to decipher where the possible contributing factors of burnout are coming from and give you more holistic insight into potential stress points. For example, it can be stressful to streamline efficiencies when you’re one person doing many things. In some cases, it may be useful to turn to tech tools such as Trello or Hubspot to help you manage your workload and support with role-specific outputs. - Finding ways to support yourself
Free mental health toolkits like the ones found on R U OK are a good place to start, or even working with an employee assistance program such as Uprise to offer third-party support. In addition, the recent federal budget announced greater supports for small businesses in the form of free mental health care to provide access to evidence-based advice on stress management. At Sendle, we’ve implemented key actions in our day-to-day operations to support our staff, including ‘no meeting days and focus days to ensure we’re minimising distractions and maximising productivity. - Organising time to switch off
While this means many things to many people, finding out what helps you get through your day is a crucial element of maintaining work-life harmony. For me, starting in the early morning when there are fewer distractions means I feel fulfilled and ready to tackle any challenges. Prioritising rest breaks can help manage feelings of burnout. Even if it’s a five-minute break when handling something stressful, being able to step away can help build resiliency. For example, I love taking daily walks by the beach with my dog, Charlie. The walks help me distance myself from work and find perspective, taking me outside of any stress I’m feeling. It also enables me to not think in English all the time, which is important for the wellbeing and mental health of those of us for whom English is our second language.
Overall, burnout is incredibly common among small businesses, but it doesn’t have to be. By learning to recognise, acknowledge, and reassess, you can successfully manage burnout and all its symptoms, leading to a healthy and happy work-life harmony.
