Temporary Agency Workers—Precarious Workers? Perceived Job Security and Employability for Temporary Agency Workers and Client Organization Employees at a Swedish Manufacturing Plant

The vulnerable situation of temporary agency workers is manifested in previous research that evidences the job insecurity of this group. However, research shows that this insecurity is due to the temporary nature of employment contracts for this group of workers. In Sweden, where temporary agency workers have the same type of employment contracts (i.e., temporary or permanent contracts) and are entitled to the same employment protection as other groups of employees, one might expect a different picture. This article examines the situation of temporary agency workers who have the same working conditions as client organization employees. These workers have permanent contracts and are treated like client organization employees. We have chosen to examine this case because we anticipate it to be very likely to contradict statements regarding temporary agency workers’ affiliation with the precariat. This article aims to empirically elucidate the precariousness of temporary agency workers who are highly integrated with client organization employees and who share the same work tasks. Our analysis shows that competence development is crucial to perceptions of job security. However, temporary agency workers lack competence development, both on the part of the employer (the temporary work agency) and on the part of the client organization. The client organization has no incentive to invest more than the required competencies, since temporary agency workers only constitute a buffer in case of a downturn. We argue that it is the agency workers’ connection with a buffer that results in a lack of job security. Our results also show that temporary agency workers’ job security could be increased if temporary agencies were to invest in competence development for the agency workers, thus overcoming these workers’ vulnerability in constituting a buffer.

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Clarity needed in training the ‘temps’

Human Resource Management International Digest ◽

10.1108/hrmid-01-2017-0006 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 19-21

Keyword(s):

Personal Characteristics ◽

Temporary Work ◽

Content Type ◽

Work Related ◽

Temporary Agency Work ◽

Work Tasks ◽

Employment Characteristics ◽

Dual Employment ◽

Physically Demanding Work ◽

Temporary Agency Workers

Purpose Research shows that the risk of work-related disorders is higher among temporary agency workers than among other employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the working conditions of temporary agency workers and explains which factors contribute towards work-related disorders for this group. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a survey responded to by 482 agency workers in Sweden. The dependent variable is the prevalence of work-related disorders. Independent variables include personal characteristics, job characteristics, employment characteristics and temporary agency work characteristics. Findings The study indicates several risk factors: holding a position as a blue-collar worker; being assigned to more physically demanding work tasks and having fewer opportunities to learn new things than client organization employees; lacking training for work tasks; and lacking clarity regarding which work tasks to do during an assignment. Originality/value The theoretical implications of this study are related to the dual employment–management relationship in temporary agency work where the temporary work agency and client organization follow different logics. The logic in the employment relationship is to contract temporary agency workers out to client organizations; thus, there is no time for formal training. The logic in the management relationship lies in making temporary agency workers profitable as soon as possible, encouraging shortcuts in training and instruction; thus, temporary agency workers risk being left with a lack of clarity regarding what to do and how to do it.

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“The Staircase Model” – Labor Control of Temporary Agency Workers in a Swedish Call Center

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies ◽

10.19154/njwls.v2i1.2351 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 41

Author(s):

Gunilla Olofsdotter

Keyword(s):

Call Center ◽

Structural Control ◽

Job Insecurity ◽

Temporary Work ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Structural Inequality ◽

Telecommunication Services ◽

Labor Control ◽

Temporary Work Agencies ◽

Temporary Agency Workers

The article explores the labor control practices implemented in a call center with extensive contracting of temporary agency workers (TAWs). More specifically, the article focuses on how structural and ideological power works in this setting and on the effects of this control for TAWs’ working conditions. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with TAWs, regular employees, and a manager in a call center specializing in telecommunication services in Sweden. The results show that ideological power is important in adapting the interests of TAWs to correspond with those of temporary work agencies (TWAs) and their client companies, in this case the call center. The results also show how ideological power is mixed with structural control in terms of technological control systems and, most importantly, a systematic categorization of workers in a hierarchical structure according to their value to the call center. By systemically categorizing workers in the staircase model, a structural inequality is produced and reproduced in the call center. The motives for working in the call center are often involuntary and are caused by the shortage of work other than a career in support services. As a consequence, feelings of insecurity and an awareness of the precarious nature of their assignment motivate TAWs to enhance their performance and hopefully take a step up on the staircase. This implies new understandings of work where job insecurity has become a normal part of working life.

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German temporary agency workers’ SWB: the impact of POS provided by agencies

Employee Relations ◽

10.1108/er-08-2016-0162 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (7) ◽

pp. 1030-1047 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susanne Imhof ◽

Maike Andresen

Keyword(s):

Job Insecurity ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Temporary Work ◽

Content Type ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Temporary Work Agencies ◽

Perceived Job Insecurity ◽

Temporary Agency Workers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific relationship between temporary agency workers (TAWs) and their employing temporary work agencies in Germany that is characterized – in contrast to other European countries – by agencies’ central role in employment and the prevalence of permanent contracts. The study addresses a research gap in understanding the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) provided by temporary work agencies in the relationship between employment-specific antecedents and TAWs’ subjective well-being (SWB). Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 350 TAWs in Germany, the mediating role of POS provided by agencies is analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings The authors show that procedural justice, performance feedback and social network availability positively relate to POS while perceived job insecurity shows the expected negative influence and distributive justice has no impact on POS. POS, in turn, positively relates to SWB. The partially mediating effect of POS between employment-specific antecedents and SWB is also confirmed. Research limitations/implications The study is based on cross-sectional data and self-reported measures; this may limit causal inferences. Practical implications The results highlight the importance of agencies creating POS and reducing perceived job insecurity for improving TAWs’ SWB. Originality/value The study contributes to previous POS research by focusing on the agencies’ role and by showing the mediating effect of POS on TAWs’ SWB in Germany.

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Insecure Employment Contracts during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Need for Participation in Policy Making

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182312548 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

pp. 12548

Author(s):

Maryam Maleki ◽

Abbas Mardani ◽

Mojtaba Vaismoradi

Keyword(s):

Health System ◽

Nursing Care ◽

Policy Making ◽

Job Insecurity ◽

Job Security ◽

Short Term ◽

High Quality ◽

Employment Contracts ◽

To Receive ◽

Iranian Health System

Job security influences the ability of nurses to provide high-quality nursing care. The Iranian health system has always faced nursing shortages, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this situation. Although nurses have been labelled ‘heroes’ across the globe, many of them have been hired using insecure employment contracts. This commentary aims to describe issues surrounding job contracts for Iranian nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how the current situation can be improved. Iranian nurses are at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 and need to receive better support in terms of job security and dignity. They should participate more in policymaking activities to improve their job condition and prevent the development and implementation of the short-term and insecure job contracts that lead to job insecurity.

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“Bad jobs”: a case study of toilet attendants

Employee Relations ◽

10.1108/er-11-2017-0263 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 489-505

Author(s):

Stef Adriaenssens ◽

Jef Hendrickx

Keyword(s):

Working Conditions ◽

Job Insecurity ◽

Work Life ◽

Employment Protection ◽

Skilled Workers ◽

Service Workers ◽

Content Type ◽

Group Position ◽

Job Content

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of precarious and low-quality jobs with the study of toilet attendants, an ideal typical case of low-wage manual service workers who are excluded from secure wages, decent working conditions, and employment protection. Design/methodology/approach An extensive survey with standardized questionnaires (n=107) and in-depth interviews (n=10) of toilet attendants in Belgian towns, mostly Brussels and Ghent. Results are compared to the work quality of low-skilled workers, and the within-group position of necessity workers is analysed. Findings Toilet attendants definitely occupy “bad jobs”, measured by the higher prevalence of informal and false self-employed statuses, more intense work-life conflicts and verbal aggression from clients, and a lower job satisfaction. In all these respects, they perform worse than other low-skilled workers. Concurrently, there is a strong within-group divide between necessity workers and those who see the job as an opportunity. Despite a similar job content, necessity workers less often earn a decent wage, suffer more from customer aggression, lack social support and pleasure from work. Mechanisms related to self-selection and the absence of intrinsic rewards explain these in-group differences. Originality/value This contribution indicates, first, that job insecurity spills over into poor working conditions, work-life conflicts, and customer aggression. Furthermore, it documents that jobs are not necessarily bad in themselves, but become problematic when taken up by people with too few choices and too pressing socio-economic needs. Problems of sub-standard jobs are not merely job problems but problems of workers in a certain position.

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An investigation of entrepreneurial skills for contingent employees in small retail businesses as job security determinants

Problems and Perspectives in Management ◽

10.21511/ppm.14(3-3).2016.07 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 642-649

Author(s):

Germinah Evelyn Chiloane-Tsoka ◽

Bheki Tshabangu

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Working Conditions ◽

Significant Relationship ◽

Job Insecurity ◽

Job Security ◽

Jel Classification ◽

Entrepreneurial Activity ◽

Activity Rate ◽

Entrepreneurial Skills ◽

Contingent Employees

SMEs provide employment to approximately 61 per cent of households in South Africa (SA). Though, entrepreneurial activity rate (TEA) still poses a great concern, at 5.9% which is far below that of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China). Contingent employees in small retail businesses continue to face job insecurity as a result of poor working conditions and un-unionized. This study aims to explore whether contingent employees have entrepreneurial skills for self-employability as an opportunity to offset job insecurity in Roodepoort, SA. Likewise, the study used a quantitative approach and sampled 129 contingent employees from 60 small retail businesses in Roodepoort. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between entrepreneurial skills, job insecurity and contingent employees regarding job insecurity. Keywords: contingent employees, SME, job insecurity, unions, entrepreneurial skills, Roodepoort and South Africa. JEL Classification: J46, L26

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Impact Assessment: European Parliament and Council Directive on Working Conditions for Temporary Agency Workers

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e588012011-001 ◽

2010 ◽

Keyword(s):

Impact Assessment ◽

Working Conditions ◽

European Parliament ◽

Council Directive ◽

Temporary Agency Workers

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When do job insecure employees adapt to change?

Career Development International ◽

10.1108/cdi-03-2019-0083 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 271-286 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristi N. Lavigne ◽

Victoria L. Whitaker ◽

Dustin K. Jundt ◽

Mindy K. Shoss

Keyword(s):

Job Insecurity ◽

Small Sample ◽

Adaptive Performance ◽

Work Behaviors ◽

Content Type ◽

Work Tasks ◽

Main Effect ◽

Low Levels ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job insecurity and adaptive performance (AP), contingent on changes to core work tasks, which we position as a situational cue to employees regarding important work behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Employees and their supervisors were invited to participate in the study. Supervisors were asked to provide ratings of employees’ AP and changes to core tasks; employees reported on job insecurity. Findings As predicted, changes to core tasks moderated the relationship between job insecurity and AP. Job insecurity was negatively related to AP for those experiencing low levels of change, but was not related to AP for those experiencing high levels of change. Counter to expectations, no main effect of job insecurity was found. Research limitations/implications This study employed a fairly small sample of workers from two organizations, which could limit generalizability. Practical implications The study identifies changes to core tasks as a boundary condition for the job insecurity–AP relationship. Findings suggest that organizations may not observe deleterious consequences of job insecurity on AP when changes to core tasks are high. Originality/value Few researchers have examined boundary conditions of the impact of job insecurity on AP. Furthermore, inconsistent findings regarding the link between job insecurity and AP have emerged. This study fills the gap and expands upon previous research by examining changes to core tasks as a condition under which job insecurity does not pose an issue for AP.

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