The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(August 2016) |
Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time-based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual staff", "outsourcing", and "freelance"; or the words may be shortened to "temps". In some instances, temporary, highly skilled professionals (particularly in the white-collar worker fields, such as human resources, research and development, engineering, and accounting) refer to themselves as consultants. Increasingly, executive-level positions (e.g., CEO, CIO, CFO, CMO, CSO) are also filled with interim executives or fractional executives.[ citation needed ]
Temporary work is different from secondment, which involves temporarily assigning a member of one organization to another. In this case, the employee typically retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organization. Still, they work closely with other organizations to provide training and share experiences.
Temporary workers may work full-time or part-time depending on the individual situation. In some instances, temporary workers receive benefits (such as health insurance), but usually benefits are only given to permanent employees as a cost-cutting measure by the employer to save money. Not all temporary employees find jobs through a temporary employment agency. With the rise of the Internet and gig economy (a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs), many workers are now finding short-term jobs through freelance marketplaces: a situation that brings into being a global market for work. [1] [2]
A temporary work agency , temp agency or temporary staffing firm finds and retains workers. Other companies in need of short-term workers contract with the temporary work agency to send temporary workers, or temps, on assignments to work at the other companies. Temporary employees are also used in cyclical work, requiring frequent staffing adjustments.
The staffing industry in the United States began after World War II with small agencies in urban areas employing housewives for part-time work as office workers. Over the years, the advantages of having workers who could be hired and laid off on short notice and were exempt from paperwork and regulatory requirements resulted in a gradual but substantial increase in temporary workers, with over 3.5 million employed in the United States by 2000. [3]
There has been a paradigm shift since the 1940s in how firms utilize temporary workers. Throughout the Fordist era, temporary workers made up a rather marginal proportion of the total labor force in North America. Typically, temporary workers were white women in pink collar, clerical positions who provided companies with a stopgap solution for permanent workers who needed a leave of absence when on vacation or illness. [4] In contrast, in the Post-Fordist period, characterized by neoliberalism, deindustrialization and the dismantling of the welfare state, these understandings of temporary labor began to shift. [5] In this paradigm, the idea of the temporary worker as a stopgap solution to permanent labor became an entirely normative employment alternative to permanent work. [6]
Therefore, temporary workers no longer represented a substitute for permanent workers on leave but became semi-permanent, precarious positions routinely subject to the threat of elimination because of company product fluctuations. In today's temporary labor force, both people and positions have become temporary, and temporary agencies use the temporary workers systematically and plan instead of impromptu. [4]
Temporary employment has become more prevalent in America due to the rise of the Internet and the gig economy. The "gig economy" is defined as a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work instead of permanent jobs. [7] It is a common misconception that participation in the gig economy is a relatively new method of employment. However, finding work in the gig economy is similar to the employment style before the Industrial Revolution. It is the "one-person, one-career model" that society is accustomed to, and the gig economy is disrupting a relatively recent phenomenon. [8] Before the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, it was common for one person to take on multiple temporary jobs to piece together livable earnings.
As the market began to transform from Fordism to a post-order regime of capital accumulation, the social regulation of labor markets and the very nature of work began to shift. [9] This transformation has been characterized by an economic restructuring that emphasized flexibility within spaces of work, labor markets, employment relationships, wages and benefits. Indeed, global processes of neoliberalism and market rule contributed greatly to this increasing pressure on local labor markets towards flexibility. [10] This greater flexibility within labor markets is important at the global level, particularly within OECD countries and liberal market economies (see liberal market economy).
The temporary labor industry is worth over €157 billion per year, and the most prominent agencies are spread across over 60 nations. The biggest temporary work agencies are most profitable in emerging economies of the Global North and those that have undergone market liberalization, deregulation, and (re)regulation. [11]
Temporary work opportunities and restrictions vary around the world. Chile, Columbia, and Poland have the highest percentage of temporary dependent employment at 28.7%, 28.3%, and 27.5%, respectively. Romania, Lithuania, and Estonia have the lowest temporary dependent employment percentages, ranging from 1–4%. The United Kingdom has 6% temporary employment, Germany has 13% temporary employment, and France has 16% temporary employment. [12] In many countries, there are no restrictions on the type of temporary work that is legal, including the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Sweden, and Denmark. The United Kingdom has in place the Temporary Agency Work Directive 2008, which ensures equal pay and treatment of temporary workers. Similarly, Brazil enforces full-time employment regulations to part-time employment and outsourcing. In some countries, including Brazil, there is a wage gap between temporary and permanent workers, but this is due to violations of legislation that specify equal wage determination. [13] In other countries, prohibitions are placed on temporary employment in fields such as agriculture, construction, and non-core employment. [14] In Mexico, a temporary employee is, "prohibited to perform the same work as regular employee", [14] making temporary work illegal.
Gig economy-based temporary work is prevalent around the world. Uber, for example, operates in North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, East, South, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. [15] Airbnb advertises listings in 191 countries around the world with the most in Europe. [16]
The desire to market flexible, adaptable temporary workers has become the temporary work industry's driving, monetary-oriented objective. This has caused individual agencies to adopt practices that focus on competition with other firms, that promote "try before you buy" practices, and that maximize their ability to produce a product: the temporary worker. Through this process, the ideal temporary worker has today become largely imagined, produced, and marketed by temporary agencies. [17]
The role of a temp agency is as a third party between the client employer and the client employee. This third party handles remuneration, work scheduling, complaints, taxes, etc., created by the relationship between a client employer and a client employee. Client firms request the type of job that is to be done and the skills required to do it. Client firms can also terminate an assignment and file a complaint about the temp. [18] [19] Work schedules are determined by assignment, which is determined by the agency and can last for an indeterminate period, extended to any point, and cut short. [18] Because the assignments are temporary, there is little incentive to provide benefits, and the pay is low in situations with a lot of labor flexibility. (Nurses are an exception to this since there is currently a shortage). [18] [19] [20] Workers can refuse assignment but risk going through an indeterminate period of downtime since work is based on the availability of assignments, which the agency cannot "create", only fill. [18]
Whether the work comes through an independent gig economy source or a temp agency, when a temporary employee [21] agrees to an assignment, they receive instructions pertaining to the job. The agency also provides information on correct work attire, work hours, wages, and whom to report to. If a temporary employee arrives at a job assignment and is asked to perform duties not described when they accepted the job, they may call an agency representative for clarification. If they choose not to continue on the assignment based on these discrepancies, they will most likely lose pay and may undermine chances at other job opportunities. However, some agencies guarantee an employee a certain number of hours of pay if there is no work once the temporary employee arrives or the work is not as described. Most agencies do not require an employee to continue work if the discrepancies make it difficult for the employee to do the work. [22]
A temporary work agency may have a standard set of tests to judge the competence of the secretarial or clerical skills of an applicant. An applicant is hired based on their scores on these tests and is placed into a database. Companies or individuals looking to hire someone temporarily contact the agency and describe the skill set they are seeking. A temporary employee is then found in the database and is contacted to see if they would be interested in taking the assignment. [22]
It is up to the temporary employee to keep in constant contact with the agency when not currently working on an assignment; by letting the agency know that they are available to work, they are given priority over those who may be in the agency database who have not made it clear that they are ready and willing to take an assignment. A temp agency employee is the exclusive employee of the agency, not of the company in which they are placed (although subject to legal dispute). The temporary employee is bound by the rules and regulations of the temp agency, even if they contrast with those of the company in which they are placed.
There are several reasons as to why a firm utilizes temp agencies. They provide employers a way to add more workers for a short-term increase in the workforce. Using temps allows firms to replace a missing regular employee. A temp worker's competency and value can be determined without the inflexibility of hiring a new person and seeing how they work out. Utilizing temp workers can also be a way of not having to pay benefits and increasing the salaries of regular employees. A firm can also use temp workers to vary compensation in what would normally be an illegal or impossible manner. The role of temp workers in the work space can also have the effects of coercing regular employees into taking more work for less pay. Additionally, temp workers are less likely to sue over mistreatment, which allows firms to reduce the costs of employment in high-stress, regulated jobs. [18] [19] [20] [23]
Temp agencies are a growing part of industrial economies. From 1961 to 1971, the number of employees sent out by temporary staffing agencies increased by 16 percent. Temporary staffing industry payrolls increased by 166 percent from 1971 to 1981, 206 percent from 1981 to 1991, and 278 percent from 1991 to 1999. The temporary staffing sector accounted for 1 out of 12 new jobs in the 90's. [23] In 1996, there was $105 billion worldwide in staffing agency revenues. By 2008, $300 billion was generated worldwide in revenues for staffing agencies. [24] The Temporary Staffing Industry accounts for 16% of job growth in the U.S. since the great recession ended, even though it only accounts for 2% of all-farm jobs. [25] This growth has occurred for several reasons. Demand for temporary employment can be primarily attributed to employers' demand, not employees. [20] [26] A large driver of demand was in European labor market. Previously, temporary employment agencies were considered quasi-legal entities. This reputation shied potential client employers away. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, a shift would be predominated by legal protections and closer relationships with primary employers. This, combined with the tendency for growth of the TSI in countries where there are strict regulations on dismissal of hired employees but loose regulations on temporary work, means that growth is much faster compared to industrialized nations without these labor conditions. [26] [27]
Staffing agencies are prone to improper behavior just like any other employer. [18] [24] There have been cases of some temp agencies that have created and reinforced an ethnic hierarchy that determines who gets what jobs. [19]
An additional ramification of temp workers "guest" status is at the bottom of the workplace hierarchy, which is visually identifiable on ID cards, in different colored uniforms, as well as the encouragement of more "provocative dress". [19] Their "guest" status often means temp workers are unable to access on-site workplace accommodations and are not included in meetings despite the length of their time working at the client firm. [18] [19] [28]
This is all compounded by a working system in which temps must file complaints about clients through the temp agencies, which, often enough, disqualifies them not only from another assignment at that firm but also from receiving an assignment from that temporary agency upon review. [18] Since a client firm is harder to replace than a client employee, and there is no disincentive to not give a complaining employee an assignment, there is an incentive for agencies to find employees who are willing to go along with the conditions of client firms, as opposed to severing ties with firms that routinely violate the law. [18]
Temporary workers are at a high risk of being injured or killed on the job. In the U.S., 829 fatal injuries (17% of all occupational fatalities) occurred among contract workers in 2015. [29] Studies have also shown a higher burden of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses among temporary workers compared to those in standard employment arrangements. [30] [31] There are many possible contributing factors to the high rates of injuries and illnesses among temporary workers. They are often inexperienced and assigned to hazardous jobs and tasks, [32] [31] [33] [34] may be reluctant to object to unsafe working conditions or to advocate for safety measures due to fear of job loss or other repercussions, [33] and they may lack basic knowledge and skills to protect themselves from workplace hazards due to insufficient safety training. [35] According to a joint guidance document released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both staffing agencies and host employers (i.e., the clients of staffing agencies) are responsible for providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for temporary workers. [36] Collaborative and interdisciplinary (e.g., epidemiology, occupational psychology, organizational science, economics, law, management, sociology, labor health and safety) research and intervention efforts are needed to protect and promote the occupational safety and health of temporary workers. [37] In 2022, NIOSH and partners released a set of occupational safety and health best practices for host employers of temporary workers. [38] Checklists to foster adoption of the best practices and a slide deck staffing companies can use to educate their host employer clients about the best practices are also included.
Workers, scholars, union organizers, and activists have identified many cons of temporary work, including the gig economy. [43] These include:
Scholars have argued that neoliberal policies have been prominent in erasing the standard employment relationship. This precarious new model of employment has greatly reduced the worker's ability to negotiate and, in particular, with the introduction of advanced technology (that can easily replace the worker), reduced the temp's bargaining power. [48] Internet of Things-based companies such as Uber and Handy have come into conflict with authorities and workers for circumventing labor and social security obligations. [49] [50] [51] It has been suggested that labour regulations in North America do little in addressing labour market insecurities and the precarious nature of temporary labour. In many cases, legislation has done little to acknowledge or adapt to the growth of non-standard employment in Canada. [52]
California Assembly Bill 5 in 2019 addressed the issue of contract workers, including those in the gig economy, and set stricter requirements that must be satisfied for a worker to be classified as a contractor and not an employee, as employees receive more worker protection and benefits than contractors. In 2018, Kentucky (HB 220), Utah, Indiana (HB 1286), Iowa (SF 2257), and Tennessee (SB 1967) passed laws specifying certain on-demand gig economy workers as "marketplace contractors" and classifying them as independent contractors. [53] [54]
In the European Union, temporary work is regulated by the Temporary Agency Work Directive and the Member States' laws implementing that directive. [55]
Lawsuits have addressed some of the controversies about the status of temporary workers in the sharing economy. For example, two class-action lawsuits settled in 2016 resulted in changes to Uber's employment policies, including clarification of drivers' rights and the company's disciplinary procedures. [56] Some of these policies include Uber agreeing to issue warnings to drivers before cutting them from the company's service, no longer deactivating drivers who commonly refuse rides, informing customers that tips for drivers are not included in the fare, and allowing drivers to create an association to contest terminations. However, the legal settlement did not establish whether these workers are employees or independent contractors. [57]
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include manpower, labor, labor-power, or personnel.
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other entity, pays the other, the employee, in return for carrying out assigned work. Employees work in return for wages, which can be paid on the basis of an hourly rate, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does, the prevailing conditions of the sector and the bargaining power between the parties. Employees in some sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payments or stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in addition to payment. Benefits may include health insurance, housing, and disability insurance. Employment is typically governed by employment laws, organisation or legal contracts.
Freelance, freelancer, or freelance worker, are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work.
An independent contractor is a person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services under a written contract or a verbal agreement. Unlike employees, independent contractors do not work regularly for an employer but work as required, when they may be subject to law of agency. Independent contractors are usually paid on a freelance basis. Contractors often work through a limited company or franchise, which they themselves own, or may work through an umbrella company.
An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century. Employment contracts relies on the concept of authority, in which the employee agrees to accept the authority of the employer and in exchange, the employer agrees to pay the employee a stated wage.
Permatemp is a United States term for a temporary employee who works for an extended period for a single staffing client. The word is a portmanteau of the words permanent and temporary.
Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, gender, sex, religion, national origin, and physical or mental disability. State and local laws often protect additional characteristics such as marital status, veteran status and caregiver/familial status. Earnings differentials or occupational differentiation—where differences in pay come from differences in qualifications or responsibilities—should not be confused with employment discrimination. Discrimination can be intended and involve disparate treatment of a group or be unintended, yet create disparate impact for a group.
The labor force in Japan numbered 65.9 million people in 2010, which was 59.6% of the population of 15 years old and older, and amongst them, 62.57 million people were employed, whereas 3.34 million people were unemployed which made the unemployment rate 5.1%. The structure of Japan's labor market experienced gradual change in the late 1980s and continued this trend throughout the 1990s. The structure of the labor market is affected by: 1) shrinking population, 2) replacement of postwar baby boom generation, 3) increasing numbers of women in the labor force, and 4) workers' rising education level. Also, an increase in the number of foreign nationals in the labor force is foreseen.
Contingent work, casual work, gig work or contract work, is an employment relationship with limited job security, payment on a piece work basis, typically part-time that is considered non-permanent. Although there is less job security, freelancers often report incomes higher than their former traditional jobs.
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly funded employment agency.
The degree of labour market flexibility is the speed with which labour markets adapt to fluctuations and changes in society, the economy or production. This entails enabling labour markets to reach a continuous equilibrium determined by the intersection of the demand and supply curves.
Precarious work is a term that critics use to describe non-standard or temporary employment that may be poorly paid, insecure, unprotected, and unable to support a household. From this perspective, globalization, the shift from the manufacturing sector to the service sector, and the spread of information technology have created a new economy which demands flexibility in the workplace, resulting in the decline of the standard employment relationship, particularly for women. The characterization of temporary work as "precarious" is disputed by some scholars and entrepreneurs who see these changes as positive for individual workers. Precarious work is ultimately a result of a profit driven capitalist organization of work in which employment is largely understood as a cost that needs to be reduced. The social and political consequences vary greatly in terms of gender, age, race, and class and result in varying degrees of inequality and freedom.
In Australia, labour hire is referred to by the legal term of art labour hire arrangement, and it refers to the employment practice of an employer supplying its employees to another workplace, for profit.
Unreported employment, also known as money under the table, working under the table, off the books, cash-in-the-claw, cash-in-hand, money-in-the-paw, or illicit work is illegal employment that is not reported to the government. The employer or the employee often does so for tax evasion or avoiding and violating other laws such as obtaining unemployment benefits while being employed. The working contract is made without social security costs and does typically not provide health insurance, paid parental leave, paid vacation or pension funds. It is a part of what has been called the underground economy, shadow economy, black market or the non-observed economy.
Iranian labor law describes the rules of employment in Iran. As a still developing country, Iran is considerably behind by international standards. It has failed to ratify the two basic Conventions of the International Labour Organization on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and one on abolition of child labor. Countries such as the US and India have also failed to ratify many of these Conventions and a mere 14 other Conventions, only 2 since the Islamic Revolution.
Haken is the Japanese term for temporary employees dispatched to companies by staffing agencies.
Dispatched labor refers to an atypical employment relationship. Dispatch work agencies receive requests from businesses to have them hire and manage labor on the business' behalf. This type of labor is known as "dispatched labor". There is in fact no direct contract between dispatched laborers and the enterprise which uses the agency's services, so in this way, dispatched employment follows a triangle structure. As dispatch agencies are often highly adept in hiring and managing workforces, businesses are more than happy to use an agency to manage part of their workforce as it saves time, money, and if you are a foreign enterprise, the hassle of quickly understanding the legal workings of a local labor force.
Digital labor or digital labour represents an emergent form of labor characterized by the production of value through interaction with information and communication technologies such as digital platforms or artificial intelligence. Examples of digital labor include on-demand platforms, micro-working, and user-generated data for digital platforms such as social media. Digital labor describes work that encompasses a variety of online tasks. If a country has the structure to maintain a digital economy, digital labor can generate income for individuals without the limitations of physical barriers.
Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients.
Labour hire is a form of employment in which an employer directs their de jure employees to perform work at an external workplace, belonging to a client of the legal employer.
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