Business owners are labouring one-and-a-half times longer than the average worker to keep their companies going, according to the Bank of Scotland.
Research by the bank revealed business owners have their noses to the grindstone for nearly 53 hours a week – 18 hours more than the 35 hours worked by the average employee who comes in at 9am and leaves at 5pm.
That equates to 33 million extra working weeks put in collectively each year by the UK’s 1.4 million small businesses.
Entrepreneurs in the Midlands and the North East were found to be the most likely to work long hours – they put in 54 hours a week on average.
Far from grumbling about the long hours, a quarter of bosses said they preferred to be at work.
Kevin Gillett, head of Bank of Scotland Business Banking, said: “The survey results show just how dedicated Britain’s owner-managers are to making a success of their businesses.
“They are prepared to work longer hours than most, and often do this not for monetary gain, but a sense of achievement or enjoyment.”
