Psychosocial stress and coping mechanisms of Entrepreneurs during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19’s social distancing restrictions and demand shifts are expected to close many small businesses, but there is little early evidence of the effects. This paper is the attempt to examine how the pandemic has affected the number of active small businesses in India. Over the critical two-month period from February to April 2020, the number of active business owners in India fell down at significant rate. The drop in business owners was the greatest on record, with losses felt across nearly all industries and even incorporated businesses. The paper has focused upon the mental health issues of small and big entrepreneurs and the effective mechanisms of coping from stress during COVID-19 pandemic.