PeoplePerHour, the UK’s leading freelance marketplace, today reveals that 71% of Britain’s employed workforce (that’s over 23 million workers) are considering starting their own business because they aren’t getting what they want from their employers.

The news follows recent concerns that Dragon’s Den is encouraging ‘wishful thinkers’ to start up their own business. Whilst data from PPH supports this, the reasons behind the shift reveal that prospective entrepreneurs are jumping from employment to achieve “the work dream”.

The study of over 1,000 current employees found that the majority (68%) have little or no access to flexible working options, including working from home (64%), annualised hours (64%), flexitime (57%), job sharing (77%) and compressed time (73%). Other key findings revealed:

Over half of UK employees (56.7%) work anything between 36-60 hours per week
A massive 62% have no passion for the job they do
And 57% say their biggest bugbear at work is lack of praise

In a digital age where remote working is expected and employees are used to living an on-demand lifestyle, it’s not surprising that the country’s workers are wanting to set up on their own. What is surprising is the fact that these issues are still so common in the workplace and that businesses are failing to adapt to shifting trends. Despite the rise of new working communities complete with pool tables, coffee machines and beer at 3pm, the reality is that the workforce aspires to the flexibility and rewards of running their own business.

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder & CEO at PeoplePerHour feels it’s unfair to tarnish entrepreneurs as ‘wishful thinkers’, or that businesses are set up with no realistic prospect of financial success. He explains: “Brits are a nation of passionate people who are all looking to live their work dream. That is already a reality for some, whilst others are hustling to turn their work dream into reality.

“When it comes to money, Brits are actually very cautious of starting their own business, with 3 in 4 saying financial stability is the biggest barrier to them. Of course, every business may not be a success. But the combination of passion, obtainable goals and a flexible, skilled team to support business growth is the best recipe for success.”

Retrospectively, data revealed that the top three things people desired from their working life were:

1. Doing something they feel passionate about (43%)

2. Having a better work/life balance (39%)

3. Having the ability to work flexible hours (32%).