Freely Engaged: Volition and Work Engagement Among Temporary Agency Workers of the Indian IT Industry

A lack of job security and other challenges mark the circumstances of temporary agency workers (TAWs). Yet, data from 511 TAWs of the Indian information technology (IT) industry captured via a structured questionnaire revealed the presence of volition or TAWs holding temporary jobs by choice. The study was conducted in two phases. In phase one, logistic regression was used to differentiate between voluntary and involuntary TAWs. In phase two, multiple regression was used to analyse the influence of volition on work engagement–overall and its individual components (vigour, dedication, and absorption). Logistic regression analysis showed that TAWs who were younger, single, educated in smaller cities and had worked for less than a year with a client were more likely to voluntarily choose temporary work. Further, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that such volition significantly boosts TAWs’ work engagement, in line with Self-Determination Theory’s perspective on autonomous motivation. The predictive model of categorizing TAWs into voluntary and involuntary groups based on demographic and job characteristics will help client and staffing organizations design customized policies for each group and promote factors enabling voluntary selection of temporary work arrangements.

Protean and Boundaryless Career Attitude as Determinants of Well-being Among Indian IT Temporary Agency Workers

The growth of temporary and non-standard employment arrangements post liberalization drives temporary agency workers (TAWs), especially of the information technology (IT) sector, to be agents of their own career identities. As a result, TAWs embrace self-managed/adaptable career management approaches namely protean career (PCO) and boundaryless career (BCO) orientations for their long-term sustainability and well-being. This study investigated the direct effects of PCO and BCO on TAW’s well-being, also, their indirect effects thorough perceived employability (PE). Study participants were 246 TAWs employed by leading Indian IT recruitment agencies and deployed to work for various IT clients. Data were collected through validated questionnaire and analysed through structural equation modelling. Findings confirm direct effects of PCO and BCO on TAW well-being and partial mediation effects of PE. Thus, to boost TAWs’ well-being, organizations may consider developing their protean attitudes via employee engagement programmes, staff agencies through counselling to map workers values/interest with their assigned projects, TAWs workers themselves proactively participating in the challenging assignment at the client place.

Temporary Employment, Permanent Stigma? Perceptions of Temporary Agency Workers Across Low- and High-Skilled Jobs

Research on temporary agency work emphasizes that temporary agency workers (TAWs), particularly those in low-skilled jobs associated with precariousness and low social prestige, are likely to be exposed to poor treatment, as well as stigmatization. On the contrary, stigmatization of TAWs in high-skilled jobs has not been treated in much detail in previous studies. Literature provides an incomplete picture of stigmatization within the broader field of temporary employment regarding the focus on low-skilled jobs. Hence, the present qualitative study is based on data from interviews of a heterogeneous sample of TAWs employed in low- and high-skilled jobs in Germany. By using and modifying Boyce and colleagues’ (2007) model of stigmatization, the study shows that stigmatizing treatment towards TAWs occurs across all skill levels, although the intensity and form of those experiences, as well as coping strategies, differ. Thereby, this study contributes to a more differentiated and skill level-specific understanding of how TAWs perceive and cope with stigmatization linked to their employment status. It also provides an important opportunity to advance Boyce and colleagues’ (2007) complex model of TAW stigmatization with empirical underpinnings.

The Temporary Agency Worker’s Motivation Profile Analysis

The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) establishes that human motivations can take different forms (e.g., amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation), yet it is only recently that the theory has been advanced to explain how these different forms combine to influence temporary agency workers’ (TAWs) affective commitment and their perception over the human resources practices (HRP) applied. We tested this theory with data from seven temporary agency companies (N = 3766). Through latent profile analysis (LPA) we identified five distinct motivation profiles and found that they differed in their affective commitment to the agency and to the client-company, and in their perception of HRP. We verified that temporary agency workers in more intrinsic profiles had more positive outcomes and a better perception of the investment made by the companies, than did TAWs in more extrinsic profiles. Additionally, when TAWs were able to integrate the reasons for being in this work arrangement, the negative effect of the extrinsic motivation was attenuated, and it was possible to find moderated profiles in which TAWs also showed more positive results than TAWs with only extrinsic motives. These differences are consistent with the notion that a motivation profile provides a context that determines how the individual components are experienced. Theoretical and practical implications of this context effect are discussed.

Enforceability of rights in the temporary agency sector: The case of Belgium

This study explores why temporary agency workers are disadvantaged compared to regular workers regarding their employment-related and social rights in Belgium despite extensive equal rights regulation. Fifteen in-depth interviews among temporary agency workers were analysed thematically. The enforceability of rights poses the main problem in temporary agency workers’ disadvantaged position. The following manifestations of a lack of enforceability are discussed: (1) lack of enforceability due to ignorance and indifference about rights; (2) vulnerability hindering enforceability; and (3) lack of enforceability due to misuse by employers and cutting corners. It is argued that this problem of enforceability is mainly caused by a lack of a clear allocation of responsibilities as to who should ensure the rights of temporary agency workers.

Performance and Upskilling: Indian IT Sector Temporary Workers’ Job Insecurity Coping Strategies Identified Through Grounded Theory

Globally, the demand for temporary workers is rising across organizations and sectors, driven by benefits of lower cost and workforce flexibility. Flexibility for organizations, however, means job insecurity for the temporary worker. This study focuses on understanding how the Indian IT sector’s temporary agency workers (TAWs), that is, temporary workers recruited by staffing agencies to work with client organizations, cope with their job insecurity. Grounded theory-based analysis of 36 interviews revealed that TAWs rely on enhancing their employability as the primary strategy to combat job insecurity. In addition, to enhance employability, TAWs make proactive efforts to perform consistently and upskill continuously. TAWs also expect support, largely in the form of learning and development opportunities, from the staffing agency and client to augment employability. The findings and recommendations in this article to help TAWs improve employability hold significance for TAWs, staffing agencies as well as clients. With enhanced employability, TAWs overcome job insecurity—an impediment to job performance, which is of direct relevance to the worker and the client—and also affects the staffing agency’s long-term relationship with the client.

Inclusion for All or Exclusion for Everyone? UK Unemployment Policies in the Age of Austerity

Whilst the comparative political economy literature has regarded the UK as among the least dualised countries when it comes to non-standard employment, thanks to its flexible labour market and predominantly means-tested system of social pro-tection, scholars in the precariousness literature have highlighted the increased pre-carity and insecurity of many non-standard workers, highlighting the extreme con-ditionality and punitive policies typical of the UK welfare system as an important contributory factor. This paper aims to bridge the gap between these literatures. It analyses the experience of social protection of a specific category of non-standard workers, namely temporary agency workers, in accessing both active and passive unemployment policies. It finds how welfare reforms introduced in the past two decades in association with a general welfare discourse centred on the concepts of deservingness and dependency have created important barriers in accessing un-employment protection, not just based on institutional features but also on social perceptions.

Contingent workers and perceived performance

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Economic expansion and increasing productivity mean companies are turning to temporary agency workers (TAWs) to supplement regular workers. Temporary workers often have lower levels of commitment to the client company due to the short-term nature of their roles. Investing in Human Resource Practices (HRP) can increase levels of integration and commitment and hence motivation and performance. Different generations of TAWs may react differently to the same HRP investment, with Millennials valuing the investment more than Baby Boomers, who place a higher value on strong work relationships. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Alternative Work Arrangements and Cost of Equity: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

I examine whether firms’ use of alternative work arrangements, particularly temporary agency workers, affects their cost of equity. Exploiting a major labor-market deregulation in Japan that induced manufacturing firms to increase their employment of temporary agency workers, I show that the cost of equity decreased in manufacturing firms, relative to nonmanufacturing firms, after the deregulation. Further analysis using variations within manufacturing firms provides corroborating evidence. The rigidity in labor expenses and the cost of debt also decreased in manufacturing firms. Overall, alternative work arrangements increase the flexibility in labor costs, leading to lower operating leverage and cost of capital.