Parents who own small businesses get to spend more time with their children and will get to enjoy extra holidays than other working parents over the summer, according to a study.
The global leader in online accounting, Xero, has revealed in their study that during December or January holiday period, working parents will take off two weeks on average. On the other hand, working parents who have their own business can take three weeks on average.
“Many people assume those who run a small business work around the clock and therefore don’t get to enjoy as much holiday time. Our research shows that isn’t the case. In fact, the vast majority of parents who run their own business (94%) say they spend more quality time with their children now than they did in their previous jobs,” explained by Managing Director of Xerox Australia Trent Innes.
Xero’s Working Parents Report showed findings that Australians’ main drive to create their own business is to have a balanced life.
64 percent of respondents answered that they want to spend more time with their family and have a more flexible schedule to fit with their children’s schedule.
“Many people feel after they have kids that have to make this difficult decision between staying home or working,” Innes said. “As a parent myself, I know that the last choice any mum or dad wants to make is to be able to watch their children’s soccer games versus having a career.”
“Australian parents are increasingly being drawn to small business ownership and becoming their own boss so they don’t have to sacrifice family time for work,” he added.
The report also showed results that parents who work with someone else are more stressed than those who have their own businesses in arranging childcare with 21 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
Moreover, while parents are planning their holiday activities with their kids, 20 percent answered that childcare arrangements are the leading cause of stress.
Business owners are acknowledging technology as a big help for them to “achieve a better work-life balance,” according to the study.
“In today’s digital age, work-life integration has never been more achievable. Almost three quarters of parents with their own business (74%) say they are able to work remotely more often now than in the past due to cloud tools and technologies,” Innes explained.
