Big business snubbed as students opt for smaller companies

Stress, less creativity and fear of being undervalued cited as the main reasons

Young people associate the UK’s larger companies with excessive working hours, stress and lack of creativity a study has revealed.

The study (by NOP) found:

• Two thirds (67%) of young people think large companies are less creative and small companies offer more opportunities to be creative.
• Almost two thirds believe that they would be more highly valued by small companies.
• Nearly a half (46%) thought that working in a large company is likely to be more stressful than working in a small company.
• A third trust small companies more than large companies.
• Over 60% of the young people surveyed who expressed a preference said that they would prefer to work for a smaller company.
• The main advantage seen for large companies is the financial reward they are able to offer.

Sir Paul Judge, Chairman of businessdynamics said, "The majority of young people say they do not want to work for large companies. It is essential for our economy that big business addresses this poor image as it will otherwise face an ever increasing risk of recruitment and consumer perception problems."

However all is not lost as two thirds (66%) of pupils admitted that they had a pretty vague knowledge of business. There are therefore many opportunities for companies to work with schools to tell young people about the opportunities and challenges of business.

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