More than half of U.S. employed adults are considering working for themselves due to corporate trust erosion, financial instability, and layoffs, according to a study conducted by business tools provider HoneyBook in partnership with The Harris Poll.
Based on the study, 44% of employed adults in the U.S. have considered leaving their jobs for entrepreneurship in the past year. It was also found that 43% of self-employed individuals started their business as a side hustle, while one in five adults have considered leaving their jobs to start their own business.
Additionally, 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, the highest in history. The Great Resignation also led to more than three million Americans voluntarily leaving their jobs every month in 2022. The report shows that attitudes toward independent work have changed, and younger generations value engagement in work that they are passionate about.
Younger generations have also been attracted to independent work for three reasons, which include social media exposure to non-traditional forms of employment, the easy accessibility to technological advancements, and changing attitudes towards independent work.
While 66% of US adults said their overall quality of life would improve if they worked for themselves, the study showed that a lack of organization or administrative error could still hamper independent businesses. And 72% of them did not set out to become independent business owners from the beginning of their career.
The sources for this piece include an article in TechRepublic.