Micro business owners in the recruitment industry are working an average of 47 hours a week, according to new research revealed today. That’s nearly 47% longer than the average Brit’s working week.

The research, commissioned by Penelope, a call handling solution for small businesses, found that entrepreneurs in the construction industry were found to be working the longest week at 62 hours.

The trend of working long hours shows no sign of slowing down as evidenced by the recent employment statistics from the Office of National Statistics which show a 0.3% increase in hours worked in the last three months alone.

The Penelope survey results highlight the commitment and investment workers in the recruitment industry are making in order to make their businesses a success. Microbusiness owners are in a virtuous cycle when it comes to time and money, as 67% of recruitment business owners state that they would prefer to have more money than time. The results show that business owners are clearly willing to invest personal time in order to reap the long-term benefit of having more money.

Ed Reeves, co-founder of Penelope said: “These results show the hard work and dedication being invested by micro business owners in the recruitment industry. Being the owner and operator of a micro business means taking on multiple roles and being everything to every customer. As such, many of these owners are both time and cash-strapped and they need to make the most of every day because the amount of time being squeeze into the working week is enormous.

“Choosing how much time to invest in your business can sometimes be a tough decision for business owners, however there are tools available to alleviate some of the pressure and ensure that they can be flexible about the work they leave behind at the end of the day. It’s possible to own a small company and have a healthy work life balance, with all the reassurance that they’re not missing out on valuable business opportunities.”
Credit: onrec.com