Friday, March 29

Posthaste: Small business owners are not OK — many say they’re on the verge of burnout


CFIB report suggests entrepreneurs are at their breaking point after two years of pandemic stress

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Canadian small business owners, having endured two years of pandemic restrictions, lockdowns and stress, are on the verge of mass burnout, new research suggests.

Two-thirds of small business owners say they are close to burning out and 50 per cent are struggling with their mental health, according to a report from the Canadian Independent Federation of Business and Nexim Canada.

The findings show just how much pressure small businesses have been under these past two years, CFIB said. Amid on and off lockdowns that closed businesses and reduced sales, many owners were forced to take on ever larger amounts of debt to stay open. That, combined with staffing pressures and other stressors, made an “already challenging and exhausting job” worse, CFIB said, and many struggled to keep it together.

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But the end of lockdowns didn’t immediately put an end to business owners’ woes. Many businesses have still not recovered completely, CFIB said, and that’s taking a toll on mental health.

“Business owners who are still struggling to reopen fully or return to normal revenues tend to be closest to burning out,” Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of National Affairs at CFIB, said in a release.

To add to business owners’ burdens, their employees are also dealing with more mental health issues. Many employers say they’ve noticed an increase in such ailments among their staff. Indeed, 54 per cent of owners said they know of struggling employees in 2022 , compared to 35 per cent who were aware in 2020.

That data lines up with other studies that show more Canadians in general are struggling with mental health concerns as the pandemic has progressed, CFIB said.

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“The mental health of their workforce is under strain and many people with symptoms are not connecting to mental health services,” the report said.

Yet many business owners don’t know where to turn to help staff access supports. Few feel they can support employees, and a majority say they don’t feel they have the right tools to help. Some are trying to offer assistance. Thirty- seven per cent of entrepreneurs said they are currently providing information on mental well-being to employees. But many aren’t doing much to support their own mental health. Only 27 per cent say they’ve sought out help for themselves. However, that support is something many owners desperately need, CFIB said. Without it, small business owners have been pushed close to a “breaking point,” the report said.

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One major problem for small businesses is a lack of access to well-being and support programs designed for smaller workplaces. Such programs are most often aimed at larger organizations, leaving entrepreneurs to navigate wellness issues on their own. That’s a hole that needs to be filled, CFIB said, and may be something governments and mental health experts can work on together so that small businesses aren’t left out.

Still, CFIB said there are some advantages to be found for both employers and employees working in small organizations. One feature of working with a small group of people is the ability to forge close bonds with coworkers, which may make it easier to discuss mental health . Small businesses are also more likely to offer flexibility, CFIB said, and employers believe that’s key to keeping staff on an even keel. Seventy per cent say they offer flexible hours as a way of supporting their employees’ mental health.

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And, make no mistake, small employers do want to help their employees, CFIB said. They know it makes good business sense to create a healthy work environment. But they also want guidance in how to do it effectively.

“Ensuring that there are easily available, cost-effective programs, services, or educational resources targeted at small firms will make it easier for them to effectively support their own mental health and that of their employees,” the report said.

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Tim Hortons boosted sales by nearly 13 per cent in the first quarter.

TIM HORTONS’ TURNAROUND Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Tim Hortons, is charting a new phase in its campaign to boost the coffee chains sales. It’s setting its sights on improving lunch, dinner and cold drinks offerings and sales, after spending two years rehabilitating Tim Hortons’ reputation for coffee and breakfast after disappointing sales. So far, the company’s strategy has worked. Sales have picked up since the start of the pandemic and Tim Hortons is encouraged by the results. But this is just the beginning for the chain. Next on their list: conquering espresso. The Financial Post’s Jade Edmiston has the full story. Photo by Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

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  • Toronto Regional Real Estate Board releases April home sales figures
  • Today’s data: Merchandise trade balance, US ADP national employment report, US goods & services trade balance, US ISM Services PMI
  • Earnings: Barrick Gold Corp., Gildan Activewear Inc., Brookfield Infrastructure Corp. Loblaw Companies Ltd., Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc., Home Capital Group Inc., Linamar Corp., Spin Master Corp., Centerra Gold Inc., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd ., GFL Environmental Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Great-West Liveco Inc., TransAlta Renewables Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp., Moderna Inc., Constellation Software Inc., Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., Equinox Gold Corp.

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The global economy could be headed back to a period of stagflation, that painful mix of high prices and low growth. After the double shock of COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflation rates have exceeded expectations, surging to the highest levels in decades in many countries, while economic growth forecasts are rapidly deteriorating. Policymakers are worried and forecasts are looking chilly. Stagflation, once it arrives, is difficult to contain, and could cause long-term pain for businesses and households. “In economic terms, growth is down and inflation is up,” says Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director. “In human terms, people’s incomes are down and hardship is up.”

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— The Financial Times

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Long gone are the days you’d start and end your career with the same company. As that style of work has dwindled, so have workplace pension plans. By the end of 2019, 5.5 million Canadians were members of either a defined benefit or defined contribution pension plan, according to Statistics Canada. But when you dig into the data, that means only 37 per cent of Canadian workers are covered by a pension plan — leaving the other 63 per cent to save for retirement on their own. Our content partner MoneyWise presents some creative solutions on the horizon to help Canadians afford to retire one day.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Victoria Wells (@vwells80), with additional reporting from The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg.

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