Temp worker – the possibility to customize your work

Temporary work may give the possibility to do work which is customized according to the employee’s needs – but how many temporary workers really see this as an opportunity?

A study by the Finnish Federation of Special Service and Clerical Employees ERTO, an organization for employees (in Finnish, palkansaaja) working in expert positions in the private service sector, shows that not too many. According to the study, the two most common reasons for doing temporary work are the need for fast employment and the fact that no other type of work is available. The other given options in the questionnaire that were “I wanted more freedom for my work”, “I wanted to experience different jobs and workplaces”, or “I wanted to foster my career” didn’t get even 1/3 of the answers of the first two mentioned.

Based on this result, it seems that employees do not see temporary work as a possibility, but as a necessity. Temporary work is still considered as the lower option for a permanent work contract. This conclusion is supported by a fact from the study that 74 % of temporary workers would like to have permanent position from their current work place.

But still there are people who can make the most out of the temporary work. Usually these individuals like the possibility to assign their working times according to their needs. Some need time for their studies, some time for travelling, some because they have more flexibility in taking care of their children. Other reasons for valuating temporary work over a permanent position were better earnings and diverse workplaces – some felt that they would get bored staying in the same workplace always.

Based on this study it seems that the status of temporary work is still undervalued. In order to improve the working conditions of temporary workers, one key issue would be to emphasize the positive side of doing temporary work: flexibility and freedom.

The questionnaire for this research was done in April 2011 among the members of ERTO. 305 members replied, from which 59 % were women. 54 % of respondents were under 25 years old, which typically is the age when temporary work is more common.