Small business ownership and mental health

Small businesses contribute greatly to economic activity and provide employment for large proportions of people worldwide. While the definition of a small business, or a small to medium enterprise (SME), varies across countries, the significant economic contribution made by entrepreneurial activity is consistent. In Australia, businesses with less than 20 workers employed approximately 4.8 million people in 2017, comprising 44% of the workforce (Gilfillan, 2018). Similarly, there are over 4.5 million such business in the USA employing over 20 million people (United States Census Bureau, 2019).