Are Australian business owners prepared to switch off this summer?

Everyone deserves a break this summer, especially small business owners who have spent all year stressing about things like cash flow finance and profit margins.

But are business owners in Australia really ready to let go of their work and switch off for the holidays? A recent research report suggests this is probably not the case.

Recruitment firm Randstad recently published the December 2013 edition of its Workmonitor report, which surveyed the expectations and opinions of workers from 32 countries. One of the metrics they looked at was how people were preparing for the upcoming holiday.

The report showed that Australians are some of the most committed workers in the world - almost half (45 per cent) said they planned to keep themselves informed of what was going on at work during the holidays.

Additionally, over a third (35 per cent) claimed they struggled to resist checking their work email regularly during their break. A similar proportion - 28 per cent - stated they are unable to let go of their work the moment their holidays start.

These results put our country on a par with neighbouring New Zealand, where just under a third of workers are ready to let go of their work in time for the holidays, according to the report.

Kiwis also tend to be more relaxed with staying in the loop over the holidays, as just 26 per cent of workers in New Zealand are planning to keep a tab on their email during this period.

No matter how busy you are as a small business owner, it's important you take the time to relax from work and give yourself the chance to recharge in time for the New Year. Usually all that is required is some careful planning in advance - having someone stand in to look after your business during the holidays, for example, is a smart tactic to use.