Find happiness in a small business

Employees in small businesses are generally happier, according to results from The Sunday Times Best Small Company to work for.

Out of the 513 SMEs taking part in this year’s competition (165 more than last year) 81.2% scored leadership positively, in contrast to 73.7% of its mid-sized counterparts. Whilst this may be down to leadership being more visible in small businesses, there is further evidence of a happy working environment in team work and leaders being inspirational to their employees.

For teams or departments working well together, 65.3% of small business scored positively which is 11.4% higher than mid-sized businesses.

In terms of inspirational leaders, small businesses scored 81.1%, against 70.7% for mid-sized companies.

This year’s competition has not only highlighted the happy working environment within small businesses but also the increase in quality from all entrants. Average scores for 7 of the 8 areas of working life that are judged were up from 2007.