Despite some improvements since last year, the mental health of the country’s entrepreneurs remains fragile, reveals a survey carried out by the Business Development Bank of Canada, the results of which were revealed Wednesday as part of Mental Health Week.
Thus, a quarter of entrepreneurs who participated in the survey admitted to being very dissatisfied with their mental health. The groups most likely to make this admission are new business owners (38%), young entrepreneurs (35%) and women (32%).
“When you are an entrepreneur, you do everything in your own business, but you also take on the stress of everything at the same time and everyone at the same time,” recalled BDC President and CEO Isabelle Hudon.
Half of those surveyed in this sixth annual survey revealed that balancing their work and family lives is their main source of stress, a decline of three percentage points compared to the 2023 survey .
Inflation and profitability were also mentioned by around half of the participants, with these two factors also declining by a few percentage points since last year.
On the other hand, there has been a marked improvement in the sources of stress represented by labor problems and supply chain difficulties.
About two-thirds of entrepreneurs reported feeling tired or lacking energy at least once a week, a slight improvement from 2023. Just under half admitted to feeling depressed at least once a week. week, essentially the same number as last year.
Light at the end of the tunnel
“There has been a little more positive movement this year, but it is still timid in terms of positive movement,” said Ms. Hudon. Last year’s results made us fear the worst. We saw more and more entrepreneurs of all generations who were much more anxious, much more stressed. »
We are seeing “finally some little lights at the end of the tunnel this year,” she added, “but it is still too early to declare victory.” In particular, we can assume that the stress caused by the years of pandemic, after having plateaued last year, is now starting to ease.
The percentage of entrepreneurs who sought professional help related to their mental health increased from 35% in 2023 to 38% this year. While seeing a doctor remains the most popular strategy, attending stress management workshops and enrolling in in-person or virtual support groups have gained popularity over the past year.
There was also a modest increase in the number of entrepreneurs taking active steps to take care of their mental health, such as taking vacations.
The BDC, for its part, is pleased to note that its initiative to create a pilot program to make mental health support “more accessible and affordable for small business owners” has had some success.
Women entrepreneurs
While it almost makes sense that new business owners and young entrepreneurs are among the most dissatisfied with their mental health, finding women in this same category raises eyebrows.
“Women are often not only in the “women” category, but it is often a woman from a black or indigenous community in a remote region,” explained Isabelle Hudon. Generally, among our clients, we see that women own smaller companies than larger companies, so there is the whole question of financing growth, of keeping an SME at arm’s length…”
The fact that women are traditionally more comfortable than men in talking about their emotions may also have influenced the results, she recalled.
BDC used the World Health Organization’s Well-Being Index to assess the mental health of Canadian business owners. This self-assessment questionnaire includes five questions. The average score obtained by entrepreneurs who took part in the survey is 59 out of 100, just above the threshold of 50 which is considered a low level of well-being.
The BDC Mental Health of Business Owners Survey was conducted among 1,502 small business owners across Canada between February 19 and March 5, 2024. It was 71% men and 71% women. 28%, and 68% of them were 45 years and older.
A fifth of the participants came from Quebec.
In order to be representative of the population of Canadian SMEs, the results were weighted according to region, the number of employees in the company and the number of years the company has been in operation.
For a probability sample of 1,502 people, the maximum margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. However, as this survey is based on a non-probability sample, this information is only provided ‘for information.