Heave ho ho – How to overvcome festive season business stress from Xero
Almost a quarter of Australian small business owners haven’t taken holidays in the past two years, according to new research* by our software experts, Xero.
With summer holidays being a time of rest for most Australians it is typical for more than half (55 per cent) of small business owners to find it difficult to take time off work in the December-January period, preferring to work through the holidays than to relax, because they are the sole employee or the driving force behind operations.
The survey analysed the behaviour of small business owners during the Christmas holiday period, and the key reasons Australian small business owners are reluctant to take time
off are:
- needing to be available at all times as the key decision maker (42%)
- feeling unable to take holidays as they are the sole employee of their business (37%)
- knowing business is just too busy in the peak season for key staff to take time off (25%)
- being unable to relax if they don’t know what’s going on in the business (32%)
For the lucky 45 per cent of small business owners who don’t find it difficult to take time off from their business, the secret seems to be to delegate, and to have streamlined systems in place. Technology is a major factor in helping small business owners relax, with the survey finding that only 12% of owners use technology to do work and run their business remotely
while on holidays. More than half of small business owners admitted that using mobile technology to manage their business or work remotely would make it easier to take more holiday time.
Xero Cloud Accounting offers plenty of tools to help small businesses manage their business and work remotely if need be allowing you to attend the family holiday (although we recomend turning your computer off until at least the 4th of Jan!!
With Xero you can check on business with the click of a button, no matter where you are. Having the ability to know what’s going on in your business whilst you’re away can lead to greater peace of mind, giving business owners more incentive to take time off from work.
Early in the New Year is a great time to set up the support systems and new habits that will allow you to balance your business and work more effectively.
Ask May Shen about Xero and how it can streamline your business accounting, to reassure you that all is in order before you take your next well deserved break.
*Xero In on Summer survey, October 2015. The survey was conducted by PureProfile and consisted of 515 Australian respondents who
own or manage their own small business.
