Temp Workers the New Breed?
Recent stories in the media are posing the question, are temp workers the new breed of American employee? Temp employees have been around forever (Ok, for centuries, although we called them part-timers before), but in recent years, even as unemployment stats go up, so do the number of temporary, or “contract” workers.
The appeal, so it is pitched, is temp employment gives greater flexibility to workers who want to be able to take time off more easily. Plus, they get to sample various work environments without having to commit to it like it’s a marriage. They’re free and they have freedom and can fly free… however, they often are doing it free of insurance and other benefits, sick days, paid vacations, etc. Oh, but they have freedom.
The attraction for employers is the available workers when they are needed, but for no more than that. You can imagine thew grunt filing and data entry that makes up much of temp work. But even with paying a fee to the Temp Agency, it still works out cheaper for the company.