Risk of burnout in French entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 crisis
Olivier Torrès,
Alexandre Benzari,
Christian Fisch,
Jinia Mukerjee (),
Abdelaziz Swalhi and
Roy Thurik
Additional contact information
Olivier Torrès: Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School, MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School - UM - Université de Montpellier
Alexandre Benzari: MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School - UM - Université de Montpellier, Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School
Christian Fisch: Uni Trier - Trier Universität = Trier University = Université de Trèves
Jinia Mukerjee: Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School, MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School - UM - Université de Montpellier
Abdelaziz Swalhi: MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School - UM - Université de Montpellier
Post-Print from HAL
Abstract:
Abstract The COVID-19 crisis presents manifest threats for entrepreneurs since their business survival is often directly at stake given the alarming economic downturn. This existential threat, together with their crucial role in the economy, is the reason for the plethora of public financial support schemes being implemented throughout the entire world. However, support schemes for mental health are lacking. We aim to investigate, first , whether burnout levels have increased during the crisis and, second , whether burnout levels during the COVID-19 crisis depend on the threat of becoming ill, having to stay at home due to the lockdown, and/or having to file for bankruptcy due to the economic downturn. We do so using seven data sets of French entrepreneurs with a temporal comparison of averages and two data sets of French entrepreneurs with a cross-sectional analysis of individuals. Our findings show that indeed, the risks of burnout have increased during the pandemic and that the threat of bankruptcy is the dominant threat. As an increasing number of studies in the entrepreneurship literature indicate that entrepreneurs' mental health influences their activities, as well as the growth and sustainability of their ventures, our study is important and timely in its contribution, as it takes a close look at the perception of burnout in general and more specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plain English Summary The risk of burnout in French entrepreneurs has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which calls for not only financial support but also other forms of support. The COVID-19 pandemic presents many threats for entrepreneurs since their business survival is often directly at stake. These threats are not just financial but also related to health, such as the threat of burnout. The findings of our study show that for French entrepreneurs, the threat of burnout increased after the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding raises the question whether this outcome is due to the threat to health, the effects of the lockdown, or the threat of bankruptcy. It appears that all three factors play important roles, although the financial threat is the dominant threat. These findings call for the extension of entrepreneurial support systems beyond the financial area by also involving an "entrepreneurship care" aspect, which includes telephone support, webinars, and mental help facilities.
Keywords: Small business owners; Entrepreneurs; Burnout; COVID-19 pandemic; France (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sbm
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04115876v1
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)
Published in Small Business Economics, 2022, 58 (2), pp.717-739. ⟨10.1007/s11187-021-00516-2⟩
Downloads: (external link)
https://hal.science/hal-04115876v1/document (application/pdf)
Related works:
Journal Article: Risk of burnout in French entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 crisis (2022) 
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04115876
DOI: 10.1007/s11187-021-00516-2
Access Statistics for this paper
More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().