Read the text about temporary work. Some phrases about temporary work are highlighted and explained below. Don’t forget to answer the quiz and leave comments about the discussion questions.
Temporary staffing is all the rage at the moment. Forget full-time 9 to 5 positions because they are long gone. Instead, we are seeing smaller staff sizes becoming the norm, with almost a half of US companies following this trend.
Industry statistics show that temporary employment is 10% higher than in 2009 with that figure expected to increase by this time next year. What seems to be an undesired effect of the economic crisis is now actually helping its recovery as companies save money and maximise work.
From a managerial perspective, taking on part-timers has its perks. For one thing, an employer can staff up extremely quickly and without all the red tape full-time employments create such as continual development and holiday leave. Instead, the staff are hired on a need by need basis and then just let go.
Increased unemployment has created a high quality of potential employees so a hiring company can get the crème de la crème of the workforce and at a budget rate. 10 years ago such a situation did not exist and companies had a harder time recruiting qualified and experienced staff. Now, times have changed and the work force is full of professionals who find themselves out of work because their company was downsized, went belly up or they took voluntary early retirement.
Temporary employment may not rake in the kind of money and perks a full-time position may provide but it ticks several boxes:
1) For inexperienced workers it is an invaluable way to build your CV and to try out different jobs.
2) Working as a temporary worker via an agency means you are paid for every hour you work and you are not obliged to do any overtime. You can also say no to jobs you do not feel suitable for.
3) If you add up all the meetings and administrative tasks that go hand-in-hand with some full-time positions, you may actually be better off working part-time.
4) Contacts and networking is essential in business. Thus, having the opportunity to work in a number of places will boost your connections.
5) Working part-time allows you to get your foot in the door and if you play your cards right you could end up with a full-time or even permanent position later on.
Whatever your take on part-time employment, it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. As with all market changes those employees and companies who adapt will survive and even flourish.
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Temporary work phrases
- X is all the rage
- Very fashionable
- To be long gone
- Finished and no more
- X is becoming the norm
- Increasingly common
- Undesired effect
- A result you did not want
- Taking on
- Hiring
- X has its perks
- X has advantages
- To staff up
- To hire more staff
- Red tape
- Paperwork and regulations
- On a need by need basis
- Only when required
- to be let go
- employment stops at the end of a work/contract
- The crème de la crème
- The best of the best
- The workforce
- All the people who have a job
- Downsized
- Made smaller
- to go belly up
- to become bankrupt and out of business
- Early retirement
- To stop working before the legal age (60+)
- To rake in
- To earn (money)
- Perks
- Benefits
- It ticks several boxes
- It meets a good number of positive requirements
- Invaluable
- A high worth
- To build your CV
- To expand your resume
- To try out sthg
- To do and see if you like sthg
- Not obliged to do sthg
- Not required to do sthg
- To go hand-in-hand with sthg
- 2 things that are normally connected
- To be better off
- To be in a better position
- Boost your connections
- Increase the number of people you know
- To get your foot in the door
- To take the first step into a potentially advantageous position
- If you play your cards right
- If you behave/say/do the right things
- To end up with sthg
- To eventually have something
- Whatever your take on
- No matter what your opinion is about sth
- Here to stay
- Permanent
- Foreseeable future
- As far in the future as you can imagine
- To flourish
- To grow
Discussion questions
Is more temporary work better for employees?
What are the disadvantages of temporary work?
