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Temporary Workers (temporary + worker)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	53%
Humanities and Social Sciences	23%

Selected Abstracts

Do Temporary Workers Receive Risk Premiums?

LABOUR, Issue 4 2002
Assessing the Wage Effects of Fixed, term Contracts in West Germany by a Matching Estimator Compared with Parametric Approaches
The wage effects of fixed,term contracts (FTCs) are analysed with the German Socio,Economic Panel (GSOEP) for West Germany. Taking selection on observables into account results in an estimated wage effect of ,6 percent up to ,10 percent. Controlling additionally for selection on unobservables leads to wage effects of ,23 percent, which may be explained by self,selection of workers. The results also highlight the importance of asymmetric information as an explanation for the incentive for employers as well as workers to enter FTCs. [source]

Temporary workers in Washington State

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2010
Caroline K. Smith MPH
Abstract Background Evidence regarding the unequal burden of occupational injuries between workers employed by temporary agencies and those in standard employment arrangements is unclear. Studies range from no significant differences in risk to substantial increased risk for temporary workers. The purpose of this study is to compare the workers' compensation experience of a large cohort of temporary agency employed workers with those in standard forms of employment. Methods Washington State Fund workers' compensation data were obtained for claims with injury dates from January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2006, resulting in 342,540 accepted claims. General descriptive statistics, injury rates (per 10,000 FTE), and rate ratios (temp agency/standard employer) were computed by injury type and industry. Results Temporary agency employed workers had higher rates of injury for all injury types, and higher median time loss (40 vs. 27 days) but lower time loss costs (median $1,224 vs. $1,914, P,<,0.001) and lower medical costs ($3,026 vs. $4,087, P,<,0.001) than standard arrangement workers. Temporary agency workers had substantially higher rates for "caught in" and "struck by" injuries in the construction (IRR 4.93; 95% CI 2.80,8.08) and manufacturing (IRR 4.05; 95% CI 3.25, 5.00) industry sectors. Conclusion Temporary agency employed workers have higher claims incidence rates than those in standard employment arrangements. The rate ratios are twofold higher in the construction and manufacturing industry sectors. More research is needed to explore potential reasons for this disparity in occupational injuries. Industry or some measure of job exposure should be included when comparing injury rates in different types of employment in order to better identify areas for prevention. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:135,145 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Temporary Liaisons: The Commitment of ,Temps' Towards Their Agencies*

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2005
Gerla Van Breugel
abstract The majority of research on organizational commitment has focused on commitment in traditional, ongoing and open-ended relationships. The commitment of employees in non-standard work arrangements such as temporary employment has been subject to much less theoretical and empirical investigation. In this study, we examine the affective and continuance commitment of temporary workers towards their agency and its determinants. We distinguish two groups of determinants: the process by which the temporary worker chose a particular agency and the support provided by the agency. The findings can be summarized as follows: (1) affective commitment among temps is generally higher than their continuance commitment; (2) having more alternative agencies to choose from (i.e., volition) does not enhance the commitment of temporary workers; (3) a public choice for a particular agency raises both types of commitment, whereas the perceived agency dependence created by the choice increases continuance, but not affective commitment; and (4) both types of commitment are positively influenced by agency supportiveness, reflected in the way the agency deals with problems, the career support it provides, and the way it keeps in close contact with its temporary workers. Finally, the results suggest that factors raising affective commitment may ,spill over' to increase continuance commitment. [source]

Temporary Work in the Public Services: Implications for Equal Opportunities

GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 4 2003
Hazel M. Conley
This article examines the impact of the growing number of temporary employment contracts in the public sector on equal opportunity theory, policy and practice. Quantitative and qualitative data from two case study local authorities are utilized to examine the mechanisms by which temporary work becomes an equal opportunities issue. A strong association between part-time work and temporary employment status is demonstrated as an important aspect of the gendered nature of temporary work. Links between ethnicity and temporary work are less clear but are based upon the insecurity of targeted funding for teachers and the under-valuation of the skills of the workers concerned. The data indicate that temporary workers are largely excluded from equal opportunity policy and practice, bringing into question a concept of equality that can permit less favourable treatment for certain groups of workers. It is argued that public sector restructuring, particularly concerning decentralization and the quest for flexibility, has facilitated the differential treatment of employees, thereby fundamentally eroding the basis of equal opportunity policy and practice. [source]

The application of an empowerment model

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 4 2001
Eric Molleman
In this study we applied an empowerment model that focuses on (a) the need for empowerment in light of organizational strategy, (b) job design issues such as job enlargement and job enrichment that facilitate empowerment, and (c) the abilities, and (d) the attitudes of workers that make empowerment work. We applied the model in the manufacturing department of a firm that produces catheters for medical use and interviewed managers and supporting staff and surveyed 231 operators. The leading performance indicators in this firm are efficiency and quality. The reassignment of 12 out of 33 tasks was believed to contribute to these organizational objectives. For most workers, their abilities and their attitudes toward empowerment proved to be no major barrier to the reallocation of these tasks. However, for temporary workers, mainly working in a "short shift," the leeway to learn skills is limited, which probably impedes empowerment. The study shows that our model helps to diagnose the need for empowerment, to design work structures that facilitate empowerment, and to select appropriate human resource management practices. Further validation in other organizational settings is desirable. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

Temporary Employment and Strategic Staffing in the Manufacturing Sector

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2009
MATT VIDAL
While prior research has identified different ways of using temporary workers to achieve numerical flexibility, quantitative analysis of temporary employment has been limited to a few key empirical indicators of demand variability that may confound important differences. Our analysis provides evidence that many manufacturers use temporary workers to achieve what we call planned and systematic numerical flexibility rather than simply in a reactive manner to deal with unexpected problems. Although temporary work may provide many benefits for employers, a key function appears to be the provision of numerical flexibility not to buffer core workers but to externalize certain jobs. [source]

Explaining union membership of temporary workers in Spain: the role of local representatives and workers' participative potential

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007
David Llorente Sánchez
ABSTRACT It has been widely assumed that type-of-contract segmentation represents a strong structural constraint on trade union growth. The analysis of a sample of the Spanish workforce shows, however, that the effect of contract type on union membership is not statistically significant once the availability and performance of local union representatives are introduced in the explanatory model. Additionally, the worker's participative potential, as indicated by his/her social and political capital, is also found to be a major explanatory factor. These findings are placed in comparative perspective and discussed in relation to possible union revitalisation strategies. [source]

Effects of the ,principle of non-discrimination' on temporary agency work: compensation and working conditions of temporary agency workers in 15 European countries

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006
Werner Nienhüser
ABSTRACT This article examines, with reference to Europe (EU-15), whether temporary agency workers experience less favourable working conditions and compensation than employees with a standard employment contract. Furthermore, it analyses whether the same differences exist in European countries with and without the principle of non-discrimination in force. The results show that discrimination of temporary workers persists even when we control for other factors. Second, in countries with the principle of non-discrimination in force, the discrimination is higher with respect to employer-provided training. [source]

Mutual expectations: a study of the three-way relationship between employment agencies, their client organisations and white-collar agency ,temps'

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2004
Janet Druker
ABSTRACT This paper examines the mutual expectations of employment agencies, the temporary workers who are placed by them and the client or host companies with whom they are placed. It considers the ambiguities and complexities inherent in the psychological contracts of agency temps, pointing to positive dimensions of the agency relationship with temps coupled with a tough transactional regime. In periods of uncertainty agency temping provided individuals with an illusion of freedom and control. [source]

He Came, He Saw, He Stayed.

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 2 2000
Guest Worker Programmes, the Issue of Non-Return
Critics of guest worker programmes have pointed out that many temporary workers do not return home when their contracts expire and thus end up swelling the ranks of undocumented workers in a host country. This article argues that this outcome is not inevitable. Whether or not guest workers return home or stay behind depends to a large extent on how the guest worker programme is administered. By comparing the US Bracero Program with the Canadian Mexican Agricultural Seasonal Workers' Program, it is shown that three aspects of programme administration account for why so many Braceros stayed in the US illegally, while almost all temporary workers employed in Canada return to Mexico at the end of the season. The three aspects are recruitment policies and procedures, enforcement of employment and housing-related minimum standards, and the size of the programme. It is suggested that the administration of the programme, in turn, reflects various interests that shape the State's position on foreign labour. Whereas in the US the Bracero Program was tailored to meet the needs of agribusinesses, the Canadian state responds to a wider variety of interests, including its own concern with the definition of ideal citizenship, as well as the need to protect domestic workers and the Mexican Government's interest in assisting those who are most needy. Additionally, unlike the US, where braceros were employed mainly in agribusinesses, in Canada Mexicans are brought to work on family farms. While desertion was a frequent phenomenon in the US, the paternalistic relationships that Canada-bound workers develop with their employers make desertion unlikely. [source]