According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data and an article from Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council, small businesses (those with less than 500 employees) make up a whopping 99.7% of the 5.73 million employer firms that are in the United States. And of that 99.7%, close to 90% (89.6%) are businesses with less than 20 workers. So while it’s safe to say that small business makes up a very large piece of the country’s employment fabric, there are still many large businesses out there hiring hundreds and thousands of employees on a monthly basis.
So if you’re thinking about making a job change, which will you consider – small business employment or large business employment? There are definite pros and cons for each side of the coin. Let’s take a look at what most people consider to be the positive aspects of both:
Small Business Employment
Personal environment. When you work for a small business, the environment tends to be much more personal than a large business that might have dozens or hundreds of departments and perhaps different buildings and locations. So chances are high that if you’re a small business employee, you’ll build more personal relationships with your manager and co-workers and even the CEO of the company. This can all lead to greater team productivity and greater success for the company.
Varied responsibilities. Working for a small business means you often wear many different hats. So if you desire to be a jack-of-all-trades, you will likely have a better opportunity to be that at a smaller company. Fewer employees usually means greater exposure to different work tasks across the business.
Flexibility. One great benefit of small business employment is flexibility. It’s often easier for a small business to offer flexible work hours or other perks like bring your pet to the office or work from home. Flexibility can also come in the form of decision-making. With less management layers and fewer hoops to jump through, making decisions about the business can happen in a more flexible, agile manner at a small business.
Large Business Employment
Advancement opportunities. Working for a large business offers more opportunities for advancement than a small business will. It can also provide the opportunity for a lateral job move into a completely different department or division of the business, without having the change employers. For many workers, this is an attractive benefit.
More structure. If you’re the kind of person who likes lots of structure and finds comfort in organization, then working for a large business might be something you enjoy. It’s not that small businesses don’t offer a structured or organized work environment, but because of their size they can typically be more fluid in how they conduct daily business. For some employees, that type of environment might not be palatable.
Better benefits. Traditionally, larger businesses are known for offering good benefits, more so than a small business employer. And that doesn’t relate to just health insurance benefits. Many larger businesses can offer other types of employee benefits – both traditional and non-traditional – like a big cafeteria, an on-site gym or robust wellness program, or even on-site daycare. For some employees, benefits like these go a long way in keeping them happy with their job.
Do you know which side of the employment coin you prefer? If so, get started by looking at a few of our available job openings. We have both large business and small business employment opportunities with many great organizations throughout CT.