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.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 危机期间法国企业家的职业倦怠风险

摘要

COVID-19 危机对企业家构成了明显的威胁，因为鉴于令人担忧的经济衰退，他们的企业生存往往直接受到威胁。这种生存威胁及其在经济中的关键作用，是全球实施大量公共财政支持计划的原因。然而，缺乏心理健康支持计划。我们的目标是调查，首先，危机期间倦怠程度是否有所增加，其次，COVID-19 危机期间的倦怠程度是否取决于生病的威胁、因封锁而不得不呆在家里和/或因经济衰退而不得不申请破产的威胁。我们使用七个法国企业家的数据集进行了平均值的时间比较，并使用了两个法国企业家的数据集进行了个人的横截面分析。我们的研究结果表明，的确，在大流行期间倦怠的风险有所增加，而破产威胁是主要威胁。随着创业文献中越来越多的研究表明，企业家的心理健康会影响他们的活动，以及他们企业的成长和可持续性，我们的研究在其贡献方面是重要且及时的，

简单的英语摘要

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，法国企业家的倦怠风险显着增加，这不仅需要财政支持，还需要其他形式的支持。COVID-19 大流行给企业家带来了许多威胁，因为他们的企业生存往往直接受到威胁。这些威胁不仅是财务方面的，还与健康有关，例如职业倦怠的威胁。我们的研究结果表明，对于法国企业家来说，在 COVID-19 大流行到来后，职业倦怠的威胁增加了。这一发现提出了一个问题，即这一结果是由于对健康的威胁、封锁的影响还是破产的威胁。尽管金融威胁是主要威胁，但似乎所有三个因素都发挥着重要作用。