Black business owners and workers are more likely to be facing financial challenges and less likely to have good access to health care according to the new Black Business Health Survey published by QuickBooks Canada today.1
The QuickBooks-commissioned survey of 1,400 business owners, employees and self-employed people throughout Canada reveals Black respondents are more than twice as likely as others to describe their current financial situation as “terrible.”
Similarly, Black respondents are almost three times as likely as others to describe their access to health care as “terrible.” Another one in six (15%) describe it as “poor.”
The findings are notable for many reasons. They highlight significant disparities at a time when people are more focused than ever on well-being. In the survey, almost half of Black respondents (48%) reveal they are placing a higher priority on well-being because of the pandemic. More than one in five (22%) are making it a “significantly higher priority.”
Black respondents reveal the top two priorities for improving personal well-being are “maintaining my mental health” and “boosting my income.”
If the focus on mental health seems surprising, it shouldn’t. Mental health has the biggest impact on overall well-being, according to the survey respondents. Second on the list of what makes the biggest impact is financial well-being.
Looking ahead, people’s goals for 2022 reflect similar priorities. In joint first place are “achieving financial goals” and “achieving health goals” — both chosen by more than two in five Black respondents (44%).
The survey also reveals a number of barriers which could make it harder for some to achieve their goals. For one, it’s clear that the pandemic has affected people’s financial health as well as their physical or mental health. More than one in three Black respondents (37%) say their personal finances got worse during the pandemic. A slightly larger proportion of other respondents (41%) say the same.
Other barriers are people’s reluctance to discuss health issues or make time for self-care. As the chart below illustrates, many of us do not like to discuss our mental health with other people, which may be counter-productive to what we want to achieve.
In addition, almost two in five Black respondents (38%) say they are not able to prioritize self-care as much as they would like because they often have to put other things, or other people, first.
The good news is that almost one in three Black respondents (32%) rate their physical well-being as “excellent” today — compared to 13% of other respondents.
A third (33%) rate their mental well-being as “excellent” — compared to 16% of other respondents.
Almost half (48%) rate their social well-being as “good” or “excellent” — compared to 37% of other respondents.
Almost three out of five (57%) rate their well-being at work as “good” or “excellent” — compared to 46% of other respondents.
QuickBooks Canada commissioned a survey of 1,400 business owners, employees, and self-employed people throughout Canada in January 2022. In total, there were 400 Black respondents and 1,000 other respondents (73% White, 18% Asian, 3% Multi-racial). Black respondents were more likely to be business owners and more likely to be self-employed.
Responses were collected via Pollfish audience pools and networks using double opt-ins and random device engagement sampling methodology to ensure accurate targeting. Percentages are rounded to the nearest decimal place.
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