5 things that may be causing you stress, and how you can create a culture to get the support you need

How's it going running a business, raising a child, being supportive partner, maintaining a social life, fitting in exercise, drinking enough water, and remembering to text everyone back?  

Everything peachy? We thought so.  

We answer that with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, but the reality is many business owners experience a decline in mental health after starting or taking over a business. A 2022 survey of Australian SME owners and operators found 85 per cent of business owners reported being affected by stress, while 71 per cent experienced anxiety and 39 per cent have experienced depression. 

Fortunately the stress that comes with running a business while raising a family doesn't have to be something you have to learn to live with. With a few tweaks, you can create an environment that ensures you're getting the support you need from your people – and, hey, maybe your staff will reap the benefits too.  

1. Not having enough hours in the day  

Feeling stretched is a given when your work demands are high. Still, if you're regularly finding yourself with never enough hours in the day to be productive, it might be time to re-evaluate where you're spending your time. Is it on the right business activities? Are you in more meetings than you need to be? Can you outsource, delegate tasks to a team member or upskill an employee to take on some of your more onerous duties? 

Quick fix: Your time is best spent on the ‘big ticket items’. If you find you're spending more time working on the nitty gritty, and less on the strategy items, it’s time to delegate, delegate, delegate.   

2. Struggling to share the load  

It's one thing to say to delegate more. It's another to put it into practice when you hold multiple roles across the business. We touched on it in this article, but if you're struggling to share the load, you risk limiting the business's growth potential.  

Stepping away from the business, even micro steps, requires a transition. It means less doing and more leading. And that may not come easily to you, or you may not have the resources to do this. It's hard to stand by and watch people take risks or muck up something you could easily do in half the time, especially if you’re paying for their time. However, there will come a time when you will be unable to handle all the tasks, or you will have to drop everything to be with your child. Prepare now by making the most of your team's abilities and the resources you do have sooner, rather than waiting until it’s too late.   

Quick fix: To work smarter, not harder, invest in recruiting the best people you can find (hire for attitude as well as skillset), give them good problems to solve, and get out of their way.  

3. Not prioritising your wellbeing  

Being a business owner comes with a unique set of stressors and pressures. When you work long hours or respond to emails in the middle of the night, you aren’t doing yourself any favours. Not only are you not prioritising your own wellbeing, but your actions could be having knock-on effects to the rest of your team.  

Remember, it’s important to make time for yourself. That could mean starting late to drop your child off at daycare, blocking out your diary so you can go to the gym at lunchtime, or creating clear boundaries on when you can or cannot be contacted.  

Don’t forget, how you work can set the tone for your entire business. By showing your team that prioritising wellbeing is important, you’re giving them permission to do the same – which is only going to have benefits to your workplace culture.  

Quick fix: Make time for (and practice) self-care and compassion. Role model wellbeing in the organisation and see a positive flow-on effect on your workers too.  

4. Not disconnecting enough  

How many times have you picked up your phone today? Check your screen time activity and prepare to be alarmed. We hear from experts and psychologists all the time that removing devices from the bedroom is key to properly switching off and getting a good night's sleep. Yet many of us are unwilling to do that, even though 89 per cent of Australians recently said technology was having a negative effect on their sleep.  

As a business owner, you probably have a special relationship with your phone. C'mon, is it not the first thing you reach for in the morning? Remember to disconnect whenever possible, and don't put too much pressure on yourself to keep going on those nights of little sleep.  

Quick fix:

• Reintroduce alarm clocks. 

• Don't charge your phone next to your bed. 

• Build downtime into your schedule and then protect it.  

5. Not asking for help 

Blurred boundaries, high work demands, poor work-life balance, managing ongoing cash flow and the uncertainty of incoming work are some of the unique pressures facing business owners. These stressors can increase the vulnerability of new parents at a time when they are already at increased risk of perinatal mental health distress.  

When you consider one in five mums and one in 10 dads suffer from postnatal anxiety and/or depression, and 46 per cent of small business owners experience anxiety and depression due to running their own business, you can see why it’s important to do what you can to support your mental health.  

Asking for help can be an easy way to support your wellbeing. It could be that you ask for support in your business. Or it could mean asking for help in your day-to-day life, such as getting a cleaner, or using a food delivery service for dinner.  

Remember, it’s important to look after yourself first, in order for you to be able to best help others (affix your own oxygen mask first).  

The warning signs to look out for  

You may be great at picking up when a staff member isn't their usual self but less so for yourself when you're busy or rundown. If you begin experiencing any of the below symptoms regularly, you could be experiencing perinatal anxiety or depression (perinatal = the time before and after the birth of a child). 

At work: 

• Over or under-productivity.  

• Changed or ‘flat’ personality. 

• Loss of motivation. 

• Difficulty making decisions. 

• Inability to concentrate (this can also result from lack of sleep). 

And at home: 

• Feeling numb, disinterested or hopeless. 

• Finding it difficult to get through the day. 

• Feeling isolated or disconnected from others. 

• Changes in appetite. 

• Feeling angry, resentful. 

• Having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. 

Sadly, 74 per cent of parents don't seek help until they reach a crisis point, yet seeking help early reduces the severity and duration of the symptoms. Don't wait until you're about to have a breakdown before asking for help. Refer to your support plan, and reach out to friends, family, organisations or mental health professionals.  

As you navigate this tricky time (and continue to practice sharing the load), you may need to boldly jump in with a level of trust you've never used before, but the benefits to your mental health and wellbeing (and your team's) will be enormous.