'No-cation' for small retailers

Around 75 percent of small business owners in the retail sector don’t feel they have enough of a work-life balance to take a holiday, according to new research by payment processing company, Worldpay.

The report ‘No-cation,’ which surveyed 500 SMEs revealed that more than one in five small retailers haven’t had more than a week off in over three years, and that over a fifth work seven days a week, with only 36 percent enjoying a six day week. Worldpay added that for one in ten SMEs nationally, even the idea of a few days leave is off-limits, unless absolutely essential.

The study found that the reality of juggling the day job with everything from finance, to HR, to chasing customers for payment could quickly become overwhelming, with work-life balance the first thing to suffer. Finance, cash-flow and paperwork topped the list of business headaches, with the average small business owner spending the equivalent of 48 days per year on administrative tasks.

Dave Hobday, UK managing director of Worldpay, said: “Small business owners need a holiday more than most, but worries about sales, cashflow, and customer loyalty mean they often spend summer on the shop floor instead of the sun lounger.

“Operational tasks are a fact of life, but there’s something wrong if they start becoming a barrier to growth, prosperity and happiness. Business owners need to find ways to take back control of their information to become more efficient, make smarter decisions, and get that well-earned break.”