Lifestyle Report

Most licensees would agree that running a pub is more than just a job...

Welcome to the first Publican Lifestyle Report. The information on the following pages comes from a survey which, with the help of Coors Brewers, we have carried out in attempt to get under the skin of the real lives of licensees.

Some of the results are quite shocking. Every week The Publican carries reports of the pressures licensees face, not just from running a business in a competitive environment but in coping with a tangle of legislation, in managing staff, in satisfying customers and in paying the rent.

It's easy enough to understand how licensees can get into financial difficulties, but what else does it do to them? What about the quality of life?

The Lifestyle Report gives a glimpse beneath the surface that pub-goers see. A glimpse of people working incredibly long hours with little opportunity to get away from the business. People whose health as well as their business can too easily be under threat.

Some of the results stunned our experts, who themselves have long experience in dealing with the kind of personal problems being a licensee can bring. They present their analyses on this page.

Yet the irony is that nine out of 10 publicans enjoy their work. Running a pub continues to be an irresistible draw and brings out a determination in many to stick with it whatever the price.

It is the responsibility of all of us to try to bring a little more quality into these lives.

What our survey says about licensees​

• the average age is 46
• 72 per cent have children
• most did not continue their education beyond 16
• 37 per cent are in their first pub
• they work an average of 6.3 days a week
• 94 per cent manage staff
• they take an average of only 13.6 days holiday a year (that's less than six days after you've deducted Bank Holidays)
• a quarter did not go away on holiday last year
• most earn less than £25,000 a year
• 23 per cent have a second source of income
• 38 per cent expect to still be working past 60
• a half exercise at least weekly
• a quarter never exercise
• a third describe their diet as unhealthy
• 48 per cent admit they're overweight (39 per cent of total population are overweight)
• 38 per cent smoke (compared to 25 per cent of the total population)
• 53 per cent drink 21 units of alcohol or more a week
• 35 per cent do not find it easy to manage money
• 90 per cent enjoy their work!

The verdict from a life coach​

Wendy Knee coaches people in getting the most out of their lives. So where are licensees getting it wrong?​

Not many of my clients would say they were happy in their work, but the majority of licensees who responded to the lifestyle survey said that they enjoyed what they do.

On average they work six days a week, have less than six days of holiday a year (when you take away bank holidays) and earn around £25,000 pounds a year. On the strength of this, who would be interested in this job?

Half the respondents admit to being overweight, more than a third smoke, a third admit to eating an unhealthy diet and a quarter take no exercise at all.

Add to this the 53 per cent who drink to excess and it is easy to see why they need to look more carefully at how they live.

So if you are a publican, what can you do to turn your life and your business around to create a more enjoyable and prosperous way of living?

As a life coach with fifteen years experience of working with the trade, I am fully aware of the danger signals. When running your own business you can become too focused on the day-to-day operations.

Working under so much pressure, and largely on your own, it is difficult to take time out and examine what you are doing. It helps to step back and have a look at the situation with someone else.

Coaching is used a lot in senior management but it is my experience that those at the sharp end of the business could benefit most from this service.

If licensees are not going to retire early from the trade, as indicated in the report, then it makes sense for them to invest in themselves.

Ongoing staff training has always been considered a necessity and yet the one person who needs to set an example in this, the licensee, would appear to be neglecting it.

It is too easy to blame others and it is indulgent to spend time worrying - but it is possible to take responsibility.

The verdict from a stress expert​

John Hill, a former Whitbread area manager and now a stress counsellor, gives his verdict.​

My immediate thoughts are: Do these licensees want to live to retirement age? What example of lifestyle are they setting for their children? Is enjoying their work an excuse for indulging in their own vices?

Running a pub has been described as a way of life. In today's world it means dealing with an ever-increasing weight of regulations from both government and the pub company, coupled with the uncertain impact that changes in the licensing laws will bring to the small operator.

To win through all of this licensees need to take stock of their assets. The largest of these is the pub itself - but the most important is the human element.

Judging by the lifestyle survey results this element is being taken for granted. Worse, many licensees are indulging in self-harm by smoking, being overweight, drinking too much and not exercising enough.

All of this is supposedly justified because 90 per cent enjoy the job! And they must do since they work on average 6.3 days per week and have less than six days of holiday a year.

Work-life balance is a current expression meaning there is more to life than working. Holidays and hobbies are vehicles to help us recharge our batteries because they are fun, yet:

• 25 per cent of people surveyed did not have a holiday last year
• 38 per cent who had a holiday chose a relaxing one
• 36 per cent have "entertaining" as a hobby.

These figures indicate that not much has been done to address the work-life balance of a licensee.

Everybody has a choice and to make the most of our assets we have to look after them, which means:

• Exercise a minimum of three times a week for at least 20 minutes a time (a brisk walk is a good start). Being on one's feet all day does not count! Nor does a game of golf
• Reduce caffeine intake from coffee and cola
• Eat regularly, not at 11.30pm, and have balanced meals
• Increase water intake to between one and 1.5 litres per day
• Be sensible about your alcohol consumption. Safe levels are 21 units for women and 28 units for men
• Smoking does not relieve stress, it just answers a nicotine craving
• Consider the example you are setting your children.

If you are fit and healthy your business has a chance to be the same.