Small but Significant: Why BeUpstanding thinks Australian Small Business is a Priority
Small business is one of the priority sectors that we are targeting for our national implementation trial of BeUpstanding. But why is small business identified as a key sector? Bernice Chong is doing her health promotion placement for her Master of Health Psychology with the BeUpstanding team, investigating the unique considerations of running workplace health promotion programs like BeUpstanding in a small business team. In this first blog in her series, she looks at why small business is one of our priority sectors. What do we mean by small business? Small businesses are substantial contributors to the Australian economy and private sector employment, employing close to 5 million people. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines small business under the following categories: Micro businesses (those with 0-4 employees), including sole proprietors and partnerships, and non-employing businesses. Small businesses (those with 5-19 employees) Employment growth in small business have been increasing over the years, accounting for just under 60 per cent of total employment growth in the private sector between June 2013 and June 2018. This is a sizeable and growing group of employers and employees that could be targeted for workplace health promotion interventions in Australia, such as BeUpstanding. However,…
