Psychosocial risks for small business owner-managers : typology and measurement scale of professional stressors
In a multi-criteria approach to risk in SMEs, the health of the entrepreneur is rarely discussed. Literature remains particularly battered on psychosocial risk factors inherent to non-subordinate workers, the main explanatory models based on remaining employees only. The purpose of this article is to propose a first exploration of stressors on the activity of SME manager. To do this, a joint survey was conducted among French SME managers (n = 357). A longitudinal phase categorized semantically their professional events perceived as more negative. A cross phase was then evaluated the stress intensity associated with events experienced during the longitudinal phase and their probability of occurrence. Finally a hierarchical classification was performed. The result of this study is a typology of the 30 stressors SME manager, which is divided into four main classes. The methodological rigor of this inventory of stressors makes it useful for future confirmatory research. It also provides a scale of measurement of the main risk factors for mental health.