While the average hours worked by a typical employee have not changed a great deal in the last two decades, traditional working patterns based around the 9-to-5 job have become less common in the modern society. There is a shift towards new types of employment.
Recent trends in labor recruitment are showing the movement towards employing more flexible workforce and increased outsourcing. The move away from the 8-hour standard day job has been a long-standing trend which is defining feature of the labor market in the 21st century.
All the signs are that many of these trends will continue.
This is because the traditional working hours for many industries in Western countries – from 9am to 5pm – no longer apply to the vast majority of businesses.
New types of employment
As new types of employment are emerging and more diverse working practices have developed including: part-time employment, temporary employment, teleworking, homeworking, portfolio working and self-employment.
A way of representing this trend towards fewer core staff on permanent full-time contracts was devised by Charles Handy. He argued that these changes in traditional patterns of employment have led to the creation three different types of workforce employed in any organization.
Specifically, the combination of full-time staff (core workers) along with flexible workforce (peripheral workers) including part-time and temporary workers who are not part of the central core of full-time employees but employed only as and when necessary. These two groups of employees are further enhanced by the increasing trend towards outsourcing – using outside self-employed contractors to perform specific jobs within the business rather than hiring employees directly.
A. CORE WORKFORCE
Core workforce is comprised of managerial, highly-skilled and technical workers who are employed on full-time permanent basis. They are people who are essential to the business because of their expertise that is why they are offered good terms and conditions of employment. They are offered competitive salaries and benefits as well as opportunities for promotion not only to stay the company, but also to remain committed to the business and doing a good job.
B. FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE
Flexible workforce is comprised of workers who are employed on part-time and temporary basis. They are called on to work when the situation demands their labor to help out the core workforce cope with peaks in business activity. They can only be hired when needed and not employed at all when there is no demand for their services. These workers are less important than core workers that is why they have lower rates of pay, worse job security such as no pension or holiday entitlement, and inferior working conditions. Flexible work arrangements are ideal for certain types of workers who want to be able to combine jobs with different firms and giving greater variety to their working lives.
1. Part-time employment
DEFINITION: Part-time employment is a type of employment in which the employee works less than 30 hours per week. It does not require the worker to work a full week, only a set proportion of it. Part-time jobs can be found in a variety of industries, including retail, food service, customer service, and healthcare. Part-time employment can be a good option for people who do not want to, or are able to, work full-time. This includes students, parents, women raising children, elderly people or have other commitments that prevent them from working full-time.
- Shift work. Shift work is when different groups of workers work at different time allocation such as one team of workers on a 9am-to-5pm-shift during the day and another team on a 5pm-to-1am shift. A worker who is required to work a 40-hour week might be able to work 8-hour shifts at various times during the day from Monday to Friday. It is believed that roughly half of all employees in developed countries now work variable numbers of hours from week to week because of flexible basic hours.
- Flexi time. Flexitime is when workers do not follow the rigid 9am-to-5pm working day. They work for a core period each day such as from 9am to 1pm with the rest of the work hours determined by the workers being ‘flexi’. In this way it is staff who determines when they will work subject to meeting required deadlines. It gives employees a greater degree of freedom to balance their work and personal life. For the business, it can extend the time when a business can be open during the week and reduces the need to pay overtime to the workers. Flexi time is getting is increasingly popular in USA and the UK with more than 25% of women being employed on a flexi time basis.
- Zero hours contracts. Zero hours work arrangement is when there is no guaranteed minimum work, so there is no fixed cost element in a worker’s pay. A wage is only paid when the worker is available and called in to work for a specified number of hours. In this way, a business can often attract well-qualified workers who wish to get back to work need to have very flexible working hours. On another hand, workers not be available immediately, if they are called on to work negatively impacting quality of work and customer service.
Both shift work, flexi time and zero hours contracts can help to prolong normal working hours of a business. This will not only help to get more work done and generate higher sales revenue, but it can improve a firm’s image as it is seen to be providing equal opportunities to staff who are unable to work standard hours.
In many countries, an increasing number of people work part-time, as much as 25% of employees are in part-time employment. This long-standing trend is mainly because of an increasing number of women and students opting to work part-time, not because they could not find full-time employment. In most of the cases, the decision to work part-time is voluntary due to flexibility of work hours.
✅ BENEFITS: There is also a large pool of people who can work part-time giving businesses plenty of choice. Hiring two part-time workers instead of one full-time worker can increase the skills and experiences of the workforce. Part-time employees can be requested to work at particularly busy periods of the day or year, but not during the slower periods. This will reduce overhead costs to a business. Or, if a full-time worker is off sick, part- time workers can often cover their duties at short notice.
Otherwise, when full-time workers take time off, output falls. Also, part-time workers are cheaper to employ because they are generally entitled to lower pay and limited benefits allowing the firm to keep wages relatively low.
Additionally, part-time employees give more flexibility as they are easier to hire and fire than full-time employees allowing the business to adjust working hours to accommodate fluctuations in demand between busy high-season and low-season. Good customer service can be given to customers without substantial cost increases. Finally, part-time workers tend to be more productive than full-time workers – most likely because they work fewer hours than core staff, so they are less tired.
❌DRAWBACKS: Part-time employees tend to be less valued by the firm and less loyal which may negatively impact the level of motivation and productivity. Effective business communication will become much more difficult as it may be impossible to hold meetings with all the employees at any time. And, it will be harder to establish a teamwork culture, if all the staff never actually meet each other. Also, as staff turnover is typically high, huge amount of time, money and effort need to be used in hiring, inducting and training new part-time staff. Therefore, there will be more employees to manage than if they were all full-time.
2. Temporary employment
DEFINITION: Temporary employment is when the firm offers its employee a fixed-term contract (for a fixed period of time such as one year), either full-time or part-time. This type of employment contract has a specific start and end date. At the end of the contract, the employer will assess – based on past performance and on the financial capabilities of the business – whether it is worth continuing hiring the worker or not. The number of employees has been increasing the last years due to an increase in seasonal, casual and agency work.
✅ BENEFITS: By offering temporary employment contracts to its employees, the firm can reduce the overhead costs of employing staff when there is less demand for their work.
While permanent contracts end only when a worker is dismissed, made redundant or leaves the firm on his own, the temporary contracts can be just left to expire. Therefore, they offer employers the benefit of flexibility which is particularly important to seasonal business activities such as construction work or farming, maternity covers or project work. Temporary employment fixed contracts can also be used to try out a new employee before offering them a permanent position.
❌ DRAWBACKS: The biggest disadvantage to the worker resulting from fixed-term contracts is the low level of job security, hence safety needs may not be satisfied resulting in a negative effect on motivation. Employees on temporary employment fixed contracts may not be eligible for certain benefits, such as pension contributions or long-term sick leave.
3. Teleworking
DEFINITION: Teleworking is when an employee is working from a remote location away from the office, but is keeping contact with the office by using electronic forms of communication such as telephones, smartphones, the Internet, Email, online chats, etc. This trend is becoming popular because of the difficulties of working in central business district of major cities. Thanks to the advances in technology, some parts of the business such as call centers can be located far away from the main part of the business. Employees can also work from a satellite office, coworking space, or coffee shop. Examples of businesses that use teleworking include insurance firms, banks, logistic firms, market research agencies or airlines.
✅ BENEFITS: By using teleworking for some groups of workers, the business can make savings in office overhead costs as less prime office locations and space are needed. A dedicated team of workers can deal with customer inquiries and complaints on the telephone during flexible and extended working hours. Teleworkers can be mobile, especially sales people who spend most of their time commuting and visiting clients. Also, lower absenteeism rate than office workers and continuity of service from those with young children or disabled dependents.
❌ DRAWBACKS: Set up costs of teleworking can be very high. Teleworking requires tight control in recruitment, monitoring and management which is more difficult as staff are off-site. Additionally, technological breakdowns can cause major disruptions to the business along with lack of security and confidentiality of business data being held at home.
4. Homeworking
DEFINITION: Homeworking is when an employee is working from his or her own home exclusively during business hours. This trend is becoming popular because of the difficulties of community to central business district of major cities. And with constant advances in technology such as wireless broadband and mobile technologies which allow employees to from in almost any location, the number of people who can work from the comfort of their home will surely continue to rise. In fact, operating from home is the most common way for online entrepreneurs to establish their business.
✅ BENEFITS: Homeworking gives the great advantage of keeping costs low by running the business from home. This is especially important for those living in remote areas, caring for family members such as elderly parents or parents of young children. Flexible working hours together of benefits of not having to commute save travel costs, time and stress. Homeworkers have more autonomy in decision-making and choice of how they organize their work.
❌ DRAWBACKS: Homeworking may cause family tensions as it is difficult to separate private life from working life. Workers, especially those with young children, are likely to face many distractions working from home. Some people may life far away from areas with the biggest market potential, hence might suffer from social isolation including boredom. Running business from home may not generate confidante due to lack of prestigious premises. There might also be less training opportunities and career development which are widely available for office workers.
C. OUTSOURCED WORK
Outsourced work is delivered by independent providers, both businesses and individuals, who provide goods and services which the business does not wish to provide for itself. They may have been once employed by the company, so they know the particular business that they work for very well. These include customer support, IT support, accounting and bookkeeping, legal services, cleaners, marketing consultants, component suppliers, administrative support, etc.
5. Portfolio working
DEFINITION: Portfolio workers are people employed in a number of different jobs, carried out simultaneously, usually on a part-time, casual or temporary basis. They might be carrying out projects for one business while conducting other projects for other businesses at the same time. The portfolio worker charges a fee for each unit of work carried out as the work is most often project-based. Examples of people conducting portfolio work include market researchers, advertising specialists, business consultants, etc.
✅ BENEFITS: Portfolio working can increase the flexibility of a firm’s human resources because as portfolio workers have the flexibility to choose their own hours and work on projects that they are passionate about. They can enjoy the variety of working on different projects with different people, so the variety of experiences can contribute to a more fulfilling career.
Flexible work structures present in many businesses have meant that the average number of hours worked has increased. Giving portfolio workers the potential to earn a higher income than traditional employees, as they are not limited by a single paycheck. This can provide opportunities for businesses to earn more money for each extra hour. Finally, portfolio workers can often achieve a better work-life balance, as they are more in control of their own time.
❌ DRAWBACKS: Portfolio workers face the lack of job security. This is because ad hoc employment opportunities mean that they may not have any projects at a particular point in time, while being very busy at other times with several projects being undertaken at the same time. Hence, portfolio workers may experience inconsistent income, depending on the availability of work. For practical reasons, portfolio workers may not have access to benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and retirement savings. From the personal perspective, they need to be self-disciplined and able to manage their time effectively.
6. Self-employment
DEFINITION: Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Self-employed people are responsible for finding their own work, setting their own hours, and managing their own finances. They will also have to pay TAXes on their own income. Examples of self-employed people include electricians, plumbers, couriers, gardeners, painters, etc.
NOTE: The term dejobbing explains the increasing number of people becoming independent workers rather than the conventional meaning of being an employee.
✅ BENEFITS: Self-employed people can choose their own hours and work from wherever they want. They are their own bosses and have the freedom to make their own decisions. It often offers a way for some individuals out of unemployment and low pay, and because it can be a source of new jobs for others. There is the potential to earn more money than they would in a traditional job, especially if they are successful in their business. Self-employed people often have a higher level of job satisfaction because they are working on projects that they are passionate about.
❌ DRAWBACKS: The need to be self-disciplined and the lack of a guaranteed income. Self-employed people do not have the same level of stability as traditional employees. They may have many projects going on at the same time in the summer, but are less busy during the winter months. Therefore, their income can vary from month to month, and they may not have access to benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. Self-employed people often have to work long hours to get their business off the ground and maintain a steady income. They are responsible for all aspects of their business, including marketing, sales, and customer service.
When the labor market is healthy, people have good overall job prospects, so it can ensure high employment rates, even for those with family and other commitments outside work.
However, when people do not have good job prospects due to a lack of suitable knowledge and skills, the choice of traditional employment opportunities may be very constrained. Therefore, various new types of employment might allow people to match their working practices to their particular circumstances.
