Human resource strategies and contingent workers: The case of safety and health in the petrochemical industry

Abstract

One of the most important economic developments in recent years is the growth in the number of temporary and contract employees. Little is known, however, about the implications these contingent employees have for human resource practices. This paper presents the results of a study of one group of contingent workers, contract workers in the petrochemical industry. The primary concern of this study is the consequences contract workers have for safety, a hotly debated and politically charged issue in an industry where safety mishaps can have catastrophic consequences. We find that contract employees offer petrochemical firms an important degree of flexibility in meeting rapid fluctuations in their demand for labor. Contract employment relationships also create stresses with potentially severe adverse effects on workplace safety. Overcoming these threats to safety while maintaining flexibility will require a high level of coordination among human resource professionals, line managers, corporate executives, unions, and government agencies.

Occupational health and safety of temporary and agency workers

“…Within this group of workers we find people on a variety of different contracts, including those who work on a temporary basis, but are directlyemployed, and also those who are engaged on a short-term basis through an employment agency. When first considering temporary workers, it is found that, as well as experiencing poorer working conditions based on factors such as pay and job stability (Deutsch, 2005;Eib et al, 2014), resulting in lower levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment (Author et al, 2014;Vujičić et al, 2014), this group have also been found to receive lower levels of training, notably in induction (Kochan et al, 1994;Selcraig, 1992). Managerial models such as Atkinson's (1985) core-periphery model divide workers on contractual status, suggesting that these temporary workers should be engaged on a transactional rather than relational basis (Williamson and Ouchi 1983;Williamson 1985Williamson , 1996 and be utilised to create numerical flexibility.…”

Rethinking Human Resource Strategies: A Shift in the Treatment of Contingent Workers

“…Additionally, these workers are not typically given company benefits, which further widen the gap in pay. In a study of the petrochemical industry, contract workers received 60 % less pay for performing the same work as permanent employees (Kochan, Smith, Wells & Rebitzer, 1994).…”

L’éclatement de l’emploi traditionnel

“…En effet, les gestionnaires ne o 1 peuvent pas toujours justifier un investissement dans des programmes de formation ou de gestion des compétences lorsque la durée du lien d'emploi est courte ou imprévisible (Kochan et al 1994 ;Schellenberg 1997), et les travailleurs atypiques ne se voient pas toujours offrir les mêmes opportunités de carrière que leurs collègues en emploi traditionnel (Rotchford et Roberts 1982).…”

“…Sur le plan professionnel, les compétences de certains travailleurs au statut atypique risquent de devenir rapidement désuètes car les employeurs hésitent souvent à investir dans la formation d'une main-d'oeuvre non permanente (Kochan et al 1994 ;Schellenberg 1997). Le risque est d'autant plus grand pour les travailleurs dont la relation avec l'employeur est de courte durée, comme les travailleurs temporaires, contractuels ou d'agence.…”

“…Although numerous authors acknowledge the rapid growth of contingent employment (e.g., Betcherman 1995;Kochan et al 1994;Lévesque 1999), little progress has been made toward the understanding of the complexity of the issues raised. One of the reasons for this is the absence of a common definition of contingent employment (Simard 1988), which renders comparisons among studies virtually impossible.…”