Temporary Agency Workers—Precarious Workers? Perceived Job Security and Employability for Temporary Agency Workers and Client Organization Employees at a Swedish Manufacturing Plant

Abstract

The vulnerable situation of temporary agency workers is manifested in previous research that evidences the job insecurity of this group. However, research

Supporting temporary agency workers’ affective commitments: exploring the role of opportunities for competence development

“…However, times have changed and we believe that this traditional picture does not cover the current real-world situation. As described by Håkansson and Isidorsson (2015), the line between TAWs and permanent employees is becoming blurred these days as organizations increasingly hire TAWs for the long/longer term and for jobs that are equal to those done by permanent staff. This also often applied for the participants in our study; the majority of them were employed at a client organization for one year or more, making them a quasi-permanent part of the client organization.…”

“…One of these 'nonstandard' or 'atypical' employment contracts includes temporary agency work: an employment construction in which employees are officially employed via an employment agency and work for a client organization for a limited period of time (Liden et al 2003). Temporary agency workers (TAWs) are thus employed by means of a triangular employment relationship as there is an employment relationship between the TAW and the employment agency, a management relationship between the TAW and his/her client organization, and a business relationship between the client organization and the employment agency (Håkansson and Isidorsson 2015). During the past 10 years, the number of TAWs remained quite stable and accounted for 1.8% of the total employment in 2012 (Eurociett UNI Europa 2015).…”

“…Based on these aspects, it was expected that OfCD would be perceived by TAWs as a favour -a return on their investment -in response to which they would develop higher levels of AC. As such, following Håkansson and Isidorsson (2015), it is expected that OfCD is part of the employment relationship TAWs have with their employment agency, as well as part of the management relationship TAWs have with their client organization.…”

List of Figures and Tables

“…Common motivators for permanent employees are career advancement, pay, stability, work community and self-actualization (Bosmans, et al, 2015). Local nationality employees, who work on a temporary basis, lack most of these motivators, which raises the question of what motivates them to work (Håkansson & Isidorsson, 2015). This provides some insight on the lack of locals' interest in temporary positions over the season.…”

“…What can be the reason for the lack of seasonal work, being done by Americans? This was discussed by Håkansson & Isidorsson (2015) and Bosmans et al (2015) that a main factor can come down to the need and motivators for Americans to take on seasonal, temporary work. Through their research, it was shown that there was a lack of career advancement and growth available in these roles and although there may be a large amount of positions available, after peak, there was a large termination.…”