Over the last 20 years, the number of temporary workers in Canada has seen a 50% increase from 1.4 to 2.1 million people (Rajeshni, 2019). Conversely, during the same time period, the number of permanent employees only increased by 33% (Rajeshni, 2019). This leads us to the question of what employment factors can explain such a large discrepancy?
Well, primarily, the number of contract jobs that have been taken during the 20-year time frame has increased by 7%, now accounting for 53% of all temporary workers (Rajeshni, 2019). The education, health care, and social assistance sectors account for the largest percentage of temporary workers within the economy, with 39% of all temporary workers (Rajeshni, 2019). Now that we have determined the causation behind the increase in temporary workers, we must analyze its effect on employment relations and why it would be beneficial to replace temporary workers with permanent employees.
On average, temporary workers are payed less than permanent workers and enjoy fewer benefits. In 2018, their average hourly pay was $21.80 to the $27.71 of permanent workers (Rajeshni, 2019). Although the wage gap between temporary and permanent workers has diminished by 4 cents per dollar since 1998, the gap still stands at 79 cents per dollar in 2018 (Rajeshni, 2019). Since the number of temporary workers has increased relative to permanent workers, wage inequality between the types of workers has grown significantly. What I believe is most concerning however, is that temporary workers enjoy fewer benefits than full time workers. Additionally, since temporary workers already experience lower levels of wages than their fully employed counterparts, they are made even worse off. This is the case because temporary workers are then forced to allocate their lower wages to cover health care, dental, and other benefits that are largely enjoyed by most permanent workers. This discrepancy between temporary and full-time workers could negatively impact employment relations within the workplace and elicit a toxic work environment.
Employment relations could deteriorate substantially because of the wage and benefit gap between temporary and permanent workers (Marloes, 2005). Temporary workers have a less secure job, which could impact their anxiety regarding employment and induce stress amongst workers who are on monthly or yearly contracts. Additionally, tensions between temporary and permanent workers could rise, due to permanent workers not having to worry about the stability of their jobs relative to temporary workers (Marloes, 2005). This tension can lead to toxic work environments, where temporary workers feel disdain and envy towards permanent workers that would impede relationships between the two.
I believe that in order to alleviate stress amongst temporary workers and to bring the wage gap between permanent and temporary workers closer together, legislation must be put in place to extend the work contracts of temporary workers who seek full time employment. A higher minimum number of years to work should be established in contracts so that temporary workers who seek to work full time are able to gain greater job security and increase their chances in becoming fully employed. With greater job security, I believe that employee relations will see substantial improvements and the gap in wellbeing between workers will be bridged.
I would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions on this situation!
Works Cited:
Naidu-Ghelani, Rajeshni. (2019). CBC. Number of temp workers jumped by 50% in last 20 years, StatsCan says. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/temporary-workers-employment-1.5135310
Graaf-Zijl, Marloes. (2005). The Economic and Social Consequences of Temporary Employment. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240621843_The_economic_and_social_consequences_of_temporary_employment_a_review_of_the_literature
Seth Abelson 
Hey Seth,
Thank you so much for providing me great insight on the topic of temporary employment. I honestly was not aware of the severity of the issue and you post truly helped clarify the way that these employees have been effected within their workplace. Having a job that is not secured is probably the most stressful thing anybody would have to experience especially because living in Canada tends to be very expensive. Employers need to take into account that employees have their families to support, their bills to pay, as well as their extra expenses, which definitely has a large impact on their mental state. It’s so sad that temporary and permanent employees have tension because permanent workers don’t have to worry about their job stability. I completely agree with your suggestion of extending work contracts of temporary workers who want full-time jobs because it allows them to plan out their next move. Creating a safe space for employees is important, and I suggest that more companies help promote mental wellness, as well as incorporate programs that seek to help those with mental health issues. Let me know what you think !
Thank you so much,
Rita
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Hi Rita,
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my blog. I am glad you enjoyed reading about temporary employment and the implications that the increase in temporary workers has on both temporary and permanent employees. Since tensions at work can be high and environments are potentially toxic, I fully agree that the institution of safe spaces and the prioritization of mental health is extremely important. Along with the fact that temporary workers have to deal with job insecurity, I believe that the mental health of workers should be employers top priority. The implementation of programs to assist those struggling with mental health at work is also an excellent idea!
Thanks again for your thoughts!
Seth
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*Test*
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Hello Seth,
I agree with you that I agree with you it would be a good idea to have legislation put in place in order to extend work contracts of those temporary workers who seek full employment, the current situation for the temporary workers is not at all ideal. I think you have done a great job explaining this point of view. Expanding on opportunity to put legislation in place, I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on what the legislation would look like. Obviously nothing like this has ever been followed through with before so I’m curious to see what you think this legislation would consist of. You have written a great post and I loved hearing your thoughts on this interesting matter.
Thanks,
Pearson
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Hi Pearson,
Thanks so much for commenting. In my view, the legislation would look like mandatory minimums for temporary workers. What I mean by this is that laws should be implemented so that temporary workers can have more job security working on 5 year contracts compared to being renewed annually. I believe that longer work contracts will provide temporary workers with a greater feeling of belonging in the workplace and will also incentivize employers to hire more full time workers. I’m glad you enjoyed my post and I hope I answered your question!
Thanks,
Seth
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Hey Seth,
Great topic chosen! I think you have a strong argument and agree with your opinion on the topic. As there will always be a need for both temporary and permanent positions, I think that “closing the gap” will benefit the workplace in terms of employment relations and productivity. In the academic journal “The impact of temporary employment on productivity”, it argues that an increase of Temporary Employees (TE) will have a drastic effect on productivity and growth in the workplace.(Lisi, 2017) With a smoother and more accessible transition from a temporary to a permanent position, perhaps enforced by legislation, I think that it can only bring positive results in terms of potential growth of an employee and their work productivity as they will feel more capable to “climb the latter” inside the workspace.
Lisi, D., & Malo, M. A. (2017). The impact of temporary employment on productivity. Journal for Labour Market Research, 50(1), 91–112. doi: 10.1007/s12651-017-0222-8
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Hi Evan,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You bring up an excellent point about the need for both types of workers in the economy and I commend you for researching more on the topic. It makes a lot of sense that productivity and growth are limited for temporary workers because they feel less of a sense of community in their workplace than their fully employed counterparts. I fully agree that by conflating both temporary and permanent workers together in establishing longer contracts, temporary employees will strive for success and work their way up for permanent jobs.
Thanks again,
Seth
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Hi Seith,
I think your post on temporary employment is great. To me it is such a hard topic to tackle as there are so many factors surrounding it. I have studied the impact of temporary workers (particularly from a female standpoint) before and the impact of it is huge! Before actually looking in to topics like this I would have never known how global of an impact temporary workers is and what it even means for me as a Canadian.
I do have to say that as an employer I understand the reason behind temporary workers. I should not necessarily title it as that; but more so part time workers. I see the value of not having to cover benefits, vacation and the like, but at the end of the day refuse to contribute to this cycle that spirals into so many other problems, i.e. poverty, lack of health care, etc. I do agree with you analysis that there is a sense of disdain in the work place between workers. I do not know if it is just full time vs. part time or as a whole in the constant wonder if other employees are being paid more, having better benefits and the like.
What do you think? Do you think it is just part of the society that we live in that everyone is always trying to have what everyone else does or is it a genuine concern for their own well being that makes them envious of what full time workers have?
Sarah
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Hi Sarah,
Thank you for commenting and I am glad you enjoyed my post. You bring up an excellent point about employers and the benefits that they enjoy through the hiring of temporary workers. The employers will receive larger shares of the profits, at the expense of the employees. To answer your question, I think that it is a combination of the two. Oftentimes we are envious of what others have, however, we are especially jealous/disdainful when we feel that we are being mistreated or underappreciated. If temporary workers are doing the same job as other permanent workers, they will clearly feel mistreated if they do not receive the same benefits or wages. As well, I think most workers are self-interested, in the sense that they want to provide for themselves and their families, which makes sense why employees without as much coverage will fill envious of those who do. I hope I answered your question!
Thanks,
Seth
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Hey Seth,
I really enjoyed your post surrounding temporary workers and the problems it creates for employment relations. I do agree that legislation should be put in place to close this gap, but the long-term stability of this policy may not pan out. In my own blog, I tried to explore the functions of automation and the large issues it will create for low-skilled workers. For example, Amazon plans to substitute last-mile delivery with drones, and Uber plans to create self-driving taxis (Hayes, 2019). How do you think governments will react when these companies begin to employ fewer and fewer people?
I loved the post! and I love how much you enjoy interacting with your peers!
Nolan
Hayes, R. (2019, November 19). Worker-Owned Apps Are Trying to Fix the Gig Economy’s Exploitation. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa75a8/worker-owned-apps-are-trying-to-fix-the-gig-economys-exploitation?utm_campaign=sharebutton
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Hey Nolan,
I’m glad you enjoyed my post about this topic. I think that automation will be problematic for low-skilled workers, however, I think that with the proper legislation in place these problems can be negated. For example, the government can offer retraining for these workers in order to prevent further unemployment with technological increases. Additionally, the government can increase taxation on such firms who will no longer employ as many workers, which can be used to fund retraining programs. Thanks for taking the time to comment and I will definitely check out your blog!
Seth
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Hello Seth,
I just want to say thank you for doing such a good job at bringing this contemporary workplace issue to light that I previously knew little about, but have been interested in learning more in. I also agree that the idea of implementing legislation to help these temporary workers would be a step in the right direction. However, today many corporations hold immense power in government decision making. I believe legislation like this would be very difficult to implement given the lobbying power these huge corporate entities possess. That being said, many of my friends’ parents are stuck in this temporary work situation and I’ve unfortunately seen many of my friends’ families go through tough times. Many of these parents rely on contract work and I absolutely agree that extending the time of these contracts would be important to help give that sense of security that many temporary work families simply don’t have. Perhaps as we have seen with the ethical product (like fair trade) movement, it may be possible for this to extend to workers under these types of conditions with a ethical contract standard.
Mitch
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Hi Mitch,
Thank you so much for commenting and I’m happy that you learned more about such an important topic revolving employment relations today. I definitely agree with you that large corporations would be displeased with the implementation of extended contract legislation, however, I do not believe that it is an impossible task. I am sorry to hear about your friends’ parents/families who have been stuck in temporary work environments and I hope that one day these issues will be less prevalent in today’s age. I can see where you’re coming from with ethical contract standards, which could positively impact temporary workers and employment relations as a whole.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Seth
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Hi Seth,
Great piece! I think you have some positive reinforcements applied here in this situation. I’d like to play the devils advocate and mention that although a good solution would be to implement some sort of legislation on behalf of the contract workers. Employers are in favor of eliminating the association of full time status and benefits for a couple of reasons; one being that unfortunately people are not as interested in their jobs or careers as they used to be. Causing high turnover rates within the workplace. Therefore, the additional paperwork it takes to get employees set up takes a lot of administrative time and money. Having worked in a staffing firm and being active in the workforce, I can attest to the fact that its very hard to find a good “employee”. I’m currently on full time contract right now for the gov’t and I don’t pay union dues. Even though i’m not covered by the union, I get a full paycheck’ which I prefer. I’ve already proven my dedication and work ethic in a short amount of time and have been offered full time contract when my term ends. That’s been the case for several years, my resume has built significantly and i’m very employable for this reason. I think that’s the goal here. Is to prove your value within the workplace and go the extra mile. Unfortunately, not everyone is like that or sees the value in this mind set.
The set up for casual or temporary work is basically a test to see who can last the longest and wants the job bad enough. Is this the right way to go about doing things? Maybe, maybe not. That’s very circumstantial, and on a case by case basis. I don’t want to make an inaccurate statement, so a broad one will be that some study’s I’ve read mentioned our generation changes jobs more than 10 times in their whole lifetime verses 20 years ago having a set career was more likely. Given the variables of increased population and other things to consider, employers also are aware that if someone doesn’t want the job or isn’t willing to work hard enough to want to stick around, there’s now a large pool of candidates to pick from. Given the circumstance of how there’s an increase in contract work, I feel as though employers are just tired of hiring what they believe to be great candidates, and they aren’t. The training, money and time that goes into setting up a new employee might not be beneficial for the employers who have doubt in the process or have gone through too many bad apples to give that extra in return right away. I think the companies that are still sticking around and do have full time opportunities, benefits etc, are large corporations with the opportunity for major growth.
Again, lots of variables to consider but something to think about!
Amanda
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