Inconsistencies in Entrepreneurs' Health and Well-Being Research: A Review

The contradictory results of whether self-employed individuals and entrepreneurs suffer from better or worse health outcomes and the lack of a consistent definition of health and well-being variables motivated this literature review. Some of the inconsistencies include the definition of health and wellbeing and the extrapolation of findings for self-employed or entrepreneurs. Self-employed, entrepreneurs, founders, business managers and business owners are categories sometimes used interchangeably in the literature. Researchers use self-employed as a proxy for entrepreneurs. In this paper, we separate studies based on the sample, and discuss the limitations of generalizability. We provide a state of the research and examine the studied interactions between self-employed individuals and variables related to their physical and mental health. In our literature search we found 28 articles related to the health and wellbeing of the self-employed or entrepreneurs. The results of these studies indicate there is confusion regarding the causes and definition of stress, poor health, and well-being. Research regarding the occupational health and well-being of the self-employed is critical to understanding their success and failure. We present various future research avenues and questions.