Almost three in five Australian small business owners (55 percent) will work during the Christmas/New Year holiday break and more than one in three (36 percent) will not take any time off, according to a survey commissioned by Telstra Business.
Some 29 percent of survey respondents, owners and managers of small to medium businesses, indicate that economic conditions will force them to stay at work, a repeat of 2010.
“Taking an interrupted holiday or no break has become the norm with 26 percent saying they worked through Christmas/New Year last year,” said Will Irving, managing director of Telstra Business Group.
He said changing work patterns and technology “lets people work when they’re away from the office” and has “a profound impact on the way we live”.
“Small business is more mobile than ever and clearly some people will be working from home or a holiday destination,” Irving reported. “The research also reflects the commitment to keeping things running that’s part and parcel of being a small business in relatively tough times.”
More than half of SMB owners took no holiday or had an interrupted holiday over the break last year as well.
