Some people will resist the lure of the office for a few weeks but

Some people will resist the lure of the office for a few weeks, but others will hold out only until the first crisis hits. Some have doubtless broken their pledge already and are reading this newspaper on the way to work. Although it would be nice to think that the number of hours a person works is determined by willpower, other considerations are much more important. This year, as every year, men will work longer hours than women (or at least, they will spend more time in the office), managerial staff will work more than junior staff, and business owners will work longer than everyone.Last month, a Midlands study found that three quarters of entrepreneurs regularly stayed at work until after 7pm They weren’t at all unusual. In the nation as a whole, one in eight small business leaders puts in more than 70 hours a week.

Shopkeepers drive themselves hardest: according to Eagle Star’s small business division, more than a quarter haven’t taken a holiday in four years.”In a small business there are, by definition, very limited resources, and the owner-manager often does work very long hours,” says Alexandra Jones, a researcher for The Work Foundation. And because relationships in such a business are very close, others feel the need to stay in the office and help them. They may also feel it’s a good way to get ahead.”But small business leaders who regularly work long, antisocial hours now appear deeply unfashionable All the talk now is of balancing work and life. Pollsters report that most people would gladly take a pay cut in return for shorter, more flexible hours. Big corporations tout their family-friendly credentials and talk about the importance of time sovereignty. The work-life movement even has a nifty slogan: “juggle not struggle.”If smaller entrepreneurs refuse to hear the work-life gospel, should anything be done to make them listen? Is there anything wrong with their workaholic habits?Small business owners are not bound to work long hours.

They remain at their desks because they think their efforts help to grow the business, or simply because they enjoy it. Francis Green, who studies the topic at Kent University, says that many people take pleasure in working more than 40 hours a week.”The people who express the lowest levels of job satisfaction are those who work normal hours,” says Professor Green. “Higher levels of job satisfaction tend to be recorded by people working 25 hours a week or 60 hours a week. It’s a U-shaped relationship.”This may be especially true of entrepreneurs – a self-selecting group defined by their acceptance of risk and their willingness to work hard. For them, the survival and growth of a business tends to be its own reward.Indeed, some of the most successful entrepreneurs set out to bulldoze the walls separating work from life.