In our research on very small (fewer than 5 employees) and personal businesses (one person businesses) we consistently find that work flexibility, work/life balance and the ability to work on their own terms are key reasons people start or work for very small businesses. Often these small business owners and employees left corporate jobs in search of more flexible work and the ability to work on their terms.

Leaving corporate America for more flexible work has clearly captured the imagination of the public. The hugely popular book The Four Hour Workweek celebrates self-employment, work flexibility and work/life balance. More recent is career coach Pamela Skillings book Escape from Corporate America, which is a how-to book for those “stressed out, burned out, or just plain bummed out” by their corporate jobs.

The desire for increased job flexibility and work/life balance is so strong and the appeal is so broad that we consider it a major driver of the growth of small business (see our research report Demographics and Small Business). Because technology is making it cheaper and easier to form and operate a small or personal business, corporate employees can easily leave for more flexible small businesses. This is resulting in small business becoming a growing talent competitor for larger corporations.

Flexible work is also prized by those continuing to work at larger corporations. Competing for Talent, a recent report by Deloitte’s consulting group, discusses this topic and points out:

“For today’s workers, hefty compensation packages and fancy retirement plans just aren’t as appealing as they used to be. What they really want – more than anything else – is to control when, where, and how they work. They’re happy to work hard, but want to do it on their terms. And by the way, we’re not just talking about “Gen Yer’s”, also known as, “Millennial.” As it turns out, recent retirees who are re-entering the workforce want many of the same things as their younger counterparts. So do “Gen X’ers,” although most are too afraid to ask.”

The next decade will see the talent war between big and small business intensify. Web 2.0 technologies are making work flexibility and small business employment more viable. High performance employees are increasingly attracted to the flexible work options provided by owning or working for very small and personal businesses. To compete effectively for talent, larger corporations will need to provide much greater job, career and work flexibility.