The Impact of the Covid-19 Crisis on the Health Status of the Managers of Small and Medium Enterprises in Morocco

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious threats to the physical and mental health of the managers of  small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco. The health capital of leaders is the first intangible capital of the SME, in addition, the physical and mental health of the entrepreneur is reflected in the health of the company. It has also triggered a wide range of psychological reactions such as panic, anxiety, and depression. The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health status of SME managers in Morocco, which will hopefully contribute to informing the intervention policies to address this challenge efficiently and effectively. So, the main question this study addresses is: what is the impact of the current crisis (pandemic Covid-19) on the health status of our entrepreneurs? In terms of methodology, two questionnaires were used, the first one concerns the measurement of the burn-out of SME managers during the covid-19 pandemic, using a version of Maslach burn-out inventory, and the second questionnaire ''The COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) '', the questionnaire was adapted from the Shanghai Mental Health Centre. The data processing was carried out by SPSS, using the method: Analysis in Principal Components. The results of our study show that the risks of burnout have increased during the Covid-19 crisis, which might lead to the failure of SMEs. The Covid-19 has an impact on SME managers' health, according to our research's main findings. The burnout scale reached a mean of 26.55, with 30% representing very burned-out leaders. We found that the average depersonalization score was 11.6, which means that 45 percent of managers have mild burnout. The results of burnout are confirmed by the high personal achievement score.

Keywords:  SMEs, Managers, Executive health, Pandemic Covid-19.

JEL Classification: M20, M21, I10

Paper type: Empirical research