UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being urged to do more to support their staff and improve workplace productivity, after new research found that people who work for a small business tend to be more likely to struggle with stress than those who work for larger firms.
The research, which was carried out by a prominent HR company and recently featured in London Loves Business, reveals that 12 per cent of employees working in firms with 50 or fewer members of staff suffer from stress on a ‘constant basis’.
In comparison, that figure falls to just eight per cent in larger companies.
The survey found that, despite the issue being a clear problem, many SMEs were not doing enough to support their staff – suggesting that productivity may be waning as a result.
It found that almost half (47 per cent) of SMEs do not currently provide mental health support to their workforce, in comparison with the ‘national average’ of 34 per cent.
Nevertheless, the majority of SME leaders and decision makers quizzed had a fair few ideas as to how they could improve employee wellbeing in the near future.
44 per cent of firms said that they wanted to introduce flexible working opportunities for their staff, while 34 per cent indicated that they wanted to reduce working hours. A similar number added that they wanted to open up access to counselling services for employees who felt that they were under too much strain.
The study’s authors argued that businesses of all shapes and sizes “have a duty” to support their staff, and that firms needed to rise above the day-to-day pressures of running a business in order to tackle the problem of poor workplace wellbeing.