Is contract work becoming the new normal?
Although they say otherwise, many employers are moving towards a just-in-time workforce populated by temporary workers, contract staff and freelancers.
Hoping to become more nimble and cut costs, both small and large firms are looking to balance staffing with fluctuating demand – avoiding overhead, benefits and job security at the same time.
And one of the biggest culprits is the federal government, says Public Service Commission president Maria Barrados in a recent report.
Unlike years ago, when temp agencies supplied clerical staff to backstop holidays, most of those being hired now are professionals looking after projects or work considered critical to a department's operations. But that’s not the case in the hinterland.
For many private sector workers, temporary jobs often translate into less pay, loss of health insurance and sick days, and anxiety over where their next pay cheque is coming from.
This explains why online freelance marketplaces like Elance and Guru are awash with graphic artists, web designers and programmers – all of whom seem willing to work for much less than the cost of traditional employees.
And things may even get a bit rockier.
Littler Mendelson, one of the largest employment law firms in the U.S., suggests that 50 per cent of new jobs that emerge after the recession will be contingent positions, and as a result as much as a third of the work force could be made up of temporary workers, contractors or other project-based labour.
Have you made the transition to the contingent world? Are you better or worse off as a contract worker? Is your business fuelled by temporary help?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: contract girl | Oct 22, 2021 2:15:21 PM
There are great benefits to contract work-my spouse has benefits so I don't really need them and my takehome pay is more as there is less deductions even though I make less per hour. I also wrote into my contract paid holidays so sometimes it can be better!:)
Posted by: radio5illy | Oct 22, 2021 8:09:54 PM
Temp agencies are the worst thing to happen to society. I live in Brantford ontario, and it is over run with temp agencies contracting jobs, that if you were hired full time by the employer would be paying between $16 and $20 or more an hour. Instead what happened here is that the city put tons of tax payer money into growing the industry in this town so that people could have good paying secure jobs with benifits, and the companies turned around, pocketed the tax money, and contracted all the jobs out to the temp agencies, making people have no job security, getting no benifits, getting payed minimum wage, and having no where else to go for work because all the jobs are contracted to the temp services. These temp services should be criminal, but it's been made legal racketeering. And the article is right about how temp services used to have people do jobs here and there for backup support, clerical and small stuff. Because when it was that way there was a law regulating what and how much work could be contracted out as temp work, but someone in the temp service business payed off the government to lift the regulations now it's out of control and entire cities are becoming minimum wage towns full of bums with no education because of it.
Posted by: Canuckguy | Oct 22, 2021 9:35:00 PM
@Radio
Welcome to the Brave New World
Posted by: Ray | Oct 24, 2021 2:51:26 PM
What you give up in paid benefits you pick up in freedom and tax breaks. Lots of advantages to being freelance ifyou're skills are in demand.
Posted by: B | Oct 26, 2021 2:42:44 PM
Being a contractor stinks!! You've got one foot out the door at all times. I work with a team of 8 that have been on contract for 10 years. In that time they've had a 36 cent an hour raise!!! Complain about it and you're out the door..............next victim???
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Posted by: Corey | Oct 3, 2021 8:35:22 AM
There are only a couple aspects where i can see temp agencies being beneficial to employers. One for instance is for individuals who are just looking for temporary or part time work because they are returning to school for instance. And the other is to determine that this particular employee is here to stay. My opinion these two factors are ok in my books. I've worked for employers in the past where the cost to even potentially hire someone full time cost the employee up to 13,000$ per person. Whether that cost includes additionnal training or whatever. So it makes sense to use a temp agency.
On the other hand of course, temp agencies don't offer that sense of job security. So before considering temp work to get where you are going....do some research on the actual employer. Ask around in the community to determine the set amount of time it takes an employer to hire you on.
Unfortunately some employers do use this method of temp agencies with no intention of hiring you on, so you have to be careful of that too.