When size matters: mentally healthy workplaces for sole traders and micro-business owners

Addressing mental health at work has become increasingly important in Australia and internationally. Globally, psychological injury results in a loss of 12 billion workdays every year. The World Health Organization has released guidelines to encourage organisations to develop a workplace mental health model to ensure work design addresses ways to minimise psychosocial risks at work. However, most research investigates the workplace mental health of employees in large organisations. This is problematic because not all organisations are large; some have only a few or no employees. The work environment of these micro-businesses differs significantly from that of their larger counterparts. This thesis attempts to bridge this research gap in the workplace mental health literature, by identifying why current approaches to workplace mental health models are not appropriate for micro-business owners and examining their unique mental health risks. Utilising constructivist grounded theory research methods, 34 micro-business owners were interviewed to identify the unique psychosocial risks they face at work. The comparative data analysis process produced important themes, labelled Feeling Powerful and Connecting with Others. These themes resulted in the final category development described as Cultivating Fortitude. Finally, the substantive theory developed from the analysis is: People outside the boundaries of the business must be included in strategies to support the workplace mental health of micro-business owners. The thesis makes a unique contribution to theory by identifying differences in autonomy, job control, learning, and the role of people external to the business. It finds that workplace mental health models must be adapted to accommodate the unique work environment of micro-business owners. Specifically, models must address the power dynamics that affect the work experience of micro-business owners, and the fluid organisational boundaries in these organisations. This will ensure workplace mental health policies, services, and strategies developed for the micro-business sector are relevant and contribute to the minimisation of psychosocial workplace hazards for this important business sector.