Tommy Isidorsson

Work Organizational Outcomes of the Use of Temporary Agency Workers

This article examines work organizational dynamics in workplaces using temporary agency workers. Previous research has principally either emphasized one effect, the division into core and periphery, or criticized this effect. This article contributes to a more nuanced analysis of how the work organization of user firms is affected by the use of temporary agency workers. Crucial factors influencing the outcome include: how agency workers are integrated into the work organization; the skills required for the work performed by agency workers; the duration of assignments; the induction time; and the access to competence development. Based on ten Swedish cases, our analysis shows that the use of temporary agency workers has three different outcomes: (1) The Core and Periphery outcome is in line with previous research on ‘the flexible firm’ whereby temporary agency workers are assigned simple work tasks and user firm employees perform advanced work tasks; (2) the All Core outcome entails using agency workers for the same advanced work tasks as user firm employees. Contradicting the theory of ‘the flexible firm’, our study shows that temporary agency workers contribute to functional flexibility; (3) the third outcome, All Periphery, occurs when the work organization is adapted to the use of low-skilled agency workers who are easily introduced into the workplace and easily terminated. However, adapting the work organization to the use of temporary agency workers also influences user firm employees, leading to deskilling and a deteriorated work organization for all workers at that workplace.

Flexibility, Stability and Agency Work: A Comparison of the Use of Agency Work in Sweden and the UK

As both an old and a new phenomenon within the EU community, temporary agency work enjoyed a rapid increase during the 1990s. Among the 14 EU countries, in fact, only Greece, where work agencies were illegal until 2004, has shown no such increase (European Foundation 2005 a). Private work agencies were also illegal in Sweden, with minor exceptions, until a 1993 law legalized both private employment agencies and work agencies. The number of employees in temporary work agencies rose rapidly during the 1990s in Sweden and was estimated by the end of the decade to be 42,000. The UK, where temporary work agencies have existed for several decades, also witnessed a considerable increase in the number of agency workers in the 1990s. Although agency workers are increasing in numbers, a recent comparative study on agency work in Europe reveals that they comprise only 1 or 2 per cent of the labour market in most EU countries (Storrie 2002: 31). The impact of these small numbers on the labour market should not be underestimated, however; work organization in user firms has to be adjusted according to the use of agency workers, meaning that the use of a small number of agency workers affects many more employees.

The Trade Union Response to Agency Labour in Sweden

This article explores the possibilities for temporary agency workers to gain union representation at workplace level. Using Heerys classification of four different union responses to agency work—Exclusion, Regulation, Replacement and Engagement—we found that, even though the union wishes to represent agency workers, there are institutional conditions obstructing them from succeeding.

Explaining job insecurity for temporary agency workers: A comparison between Sweden and Belgium

Current research has shed critical light on the insecurity characterizing temporary agency work. To understand how this insecurity is produced, this article shows that we have to go beyond national and industrial regulation and analyse how this regulation shapes workplace practices and access to a collective voice. Thus, connecting the national and workplace levels is crucial in understanding job insecurity for agency workers. Job insecurity is shaped not only by the type of contract; it is primarily formed by how the national regulation, inclusive of collective bargaining and representation structures, shapes the modalities in accordance to which temporary agency workers are used at workplaces. The article is based on a cross-national comparative case study methodology, and compares two similar workplaces in two different institutional settings, those of Sweden and Belgium.

Between two stools: occupational injuries and risk factors for temporary agency workers

Purpose Research shows that the risk of work-related disorders is higher among temporary agency workers than among other employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the working conditions of temporary agency workers and explains which factors contribute towards work-related disorders for this group. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a survey responded to by 482 agency workers in Sweden. The dependent variable is the prevalence of work-related disorders. Independent variables include personal characteristics, job characteristics, employment characteristics and temporary agency work characteristics. Findings The study indicates several risk factors: holding a position as a blue-collar worker; being assigned to more physically demanding work tasks and having fewer opportunities to learn new things than client organization employees; lacking training for work tasks; and lacking clarity regarding which work tasks to do during an assignment. Originality/value The theoretical implications of this study are related to the dual employment-management relationship in temporary agency work where the temporary work agency and client organization follow different logics. The logic in the employment relationship is to contract temporary agency workers out to client organizations, thus there is no time for formal training. The logic in the management relationship lies in making temporary agency workers profitable as soon as possible, encouraging shortcuts in training and instruction; thus, temporary agency workers risk being left with a lack of clarity regarding what to do and how to do it.