Mental resilience is strong amongst Britain’s small business owners despite pandemic challenges

Despite the many challenges Britain’s small business owners and self-employed workers have faced since the outbreak of Covid-19, surprisingly, just over two in five (41%) claim that their mental wellbeing has not been affected by the pandemic, as revealed in a new study by leading business insurance provider, Superscript.  

In addition, almost half (48%) of those surveyed had a positive frame of mind when responding to how they felt about the future by stating they were either relaxed, happy, excited, optimistic, euphoric, or content; 29% of which said they were “optimistic”, even though the majority (53%) claimed a decrease in income. 

Staying connected with family and friends (39%), physical exercise (39%) and reading (34%) were the three biggest helpers for good mental health during these uncertain times. 

“The past couple of years have been full of challenges, mentally, socially, physically, and financially. So it’s great to see that a significant number of the country’s small business owners and self-employed workers appear to have tackled them head-on and with a positive frame of mind, supported by their family and friends,” says Cameron Shearer, Co-founder and CEO of Superscript.   

Achieving personal milestones can be important to mental and all-round wellbeing, with over 6 in 10 (62%) saying they have not put any of the life goals included in the survey, such as buying a house, getting engaged, getting married, and having a baby, on hold in the last 18 months because of their work. This is despite the fact that 40% agree* that making their business a success was the number one priority in their life right now.

“Covid-19 has caused many people to put their wellbeing into sharper focus and take steps towards a better work/life balance. As the world continues to open up, it will be interesting to see how these new-found attitudes and behaviours evolve, but it’s encouraging that so many business owners and self-employed workers seem to have strong mental resilience and feel positive about the road ahead – it will hold them in good stead,” added Shearer.