According to new research by accounting software provider FreeAgent, one in five (22 per cent) UK employees plan to become their own boss during 2020.
The study, which was conducted on 2000 employed people also found that 16 per cent of respondents intend to set up their own business within the next couple of years, whilst a quarter (25 per cent) want to start their own business at some point but have no concrete plans to do so.
Just short of six in 10 (57 per cent) of employed women are planning to become their own boss in the future, compared to nearly seven in 10 men (68 per cent).
A quarter of those men are looking to make that move this year, compared to only 17 per cent of women.
The study also looked at the reasoning behind wanting to become your own boss, with 44 per cent of both men and women wanting to be able to choose the type of work they do, whilst 42 per cent of women want to have a better work/life balance and 44 per cent of men were motivated by the prospect of earning more money.
Brexit has affected the number of people wanting to start a business, with more than one in three people (44 per cent) saying it has put them off the idea.
Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said: “The fact that over one in five members of the British working population say they are intending to set up their own business this year is an exciting and uplifting discovery.
“New business brings with it the potential for innovation and fresh ideas and it is a welcome reality to know our nation is galvanised by an entrepreneurial current.
“However, a deeper dive into people’s feelings towards starting a business reveals the financial burden of setting up and general confidence to do so are lacking amongst our population.
“This demands intervention on a higher level, the Government must realise the importance of opening windows of opportunity for those with a great business idea, who need the support to practically turn their vision into a reality.”
