Topic
Contingent work
About: Contingent work is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 271 publications have been published within this topic receiving 13162 citations. The topic is also known as: contract work.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: A review of the emerging research on nonstandard work arrangements can be found in this paper, which emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of contributions to this field, including research by a variety of sociologists, economists, and psychologists.
Abstract: Nonstandard employment relations—such as part-time work, temporary help agency and contract company employment, short-term and contingent work, and independent contracting—have become increasingly prominent ways of organizing work in recent years. Our understanding of these nonstandard work arrangements has been hampered by inconsistent definitions, often inadequate measures, and the paucity of comparative research. This chapter reviews the emerging research on these nonstandard work arrangements. The review emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of contributions to this field, including research by a variety of sociologists, economists, and psychologists. It also focuses on cross-national research, which is needed to investigate how macroeconomic, political, and institutional factors affect the nature of employment relations. Areas for future research are suggested.
1,676 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the relationship between nonstandard employment (on-call work and day labor, temporary-help agency employment, employment with contract companies, independent contracting, other self-employment, and part-time employment in "conventional" jobs) and exposure to "bad" job characteristics, using data from the 1995 Current Population Survey.
Abstract: The prevalence of nonstandard jobs is a matter of concern if, as many assume, such jobs are bad. We examine the relationship between nonstandard employment (on-call work and day labor, temporary-help agency employment, employment with contract companies, independent contracting, other self-employment, and part-time employment in "conventional" jobs) and exposure to "bad" job characteristics, using data from the 1995 Current Population Survey. Of workers age 18 and over, 31 percent are in some type of nonstandard employment. To assess the link between type of employment and bad jobs, we conceptualize "bad jobs" as those with low pay and without access to health insurance and pension benefits. About one in seven jobs in the United States is bad on these three dimensions. Nonstandard employment strongly increases workers' exposure to bad job characteristics, net of controls for workers' personal characteristics, family status, occupation, and industry. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
1,417 citations
TL;DR: Contingent work is an increasingly integral part of the world of work, affecting firms' abilities to accumulate knowledge, create value, and establish competitive advantage as discussed by the authors, and it can be a means of accumulating and creating valuable knowledge.
Abstract: Contingent work is an increasingly integral part of the world of work, affecting firms' abilities to accumulate knowledge, create value, and establish competitive advantage. Although its growing use reflects a belief that firms can reduce cost structures and increase strategic flexibility, we suggest that in certain contexts, such as dynamic environments, contingent work can be a means of accumulating and creating valuable knowledge. We also discuss implications for other forms of permeable organizational boundaries.
1,021 citations
TL;DR: An overview of the contingent work literature can be found in this paper, where the authors identify topical themes and research questions which have been the primary focus of attention, as well as the possible causal interrelationships among the diverse constructs examined.
557 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined 52 highly skilled technical contractors' explanations, in 1998, of why they entered the contingent labor force and how their subsequent experiences altered their viewpoint, finding that most of these interviewees found contracting better-paying than permanent employment.
Abstract: This study examines 52 highly skilled technical contractors' explanations, in 1998, of why they entered the contingent labor force and how their subsequent experiences altered their viewpoint. The authors report three general implications of their examination of the little-studied high-skill side of contingent labor. First, current depictions of contingent work are inaccurate. For example, contrary to the pessimistic “employment relations” perspective, most of these interviewees found contracting better-paying than permanent employment; and contrary to optimistic “free agent” views, many reported feeling anxiety and estrangement. Second, occupational networks arose to satisfy needs (such as training and wage-setting) that employing organizations satisfy for non-contingent workers. Third, regarding their place in the labor market, high-skilled and well-paid technical contractors cannot be called—as contingent workers usually are—“secondary sector” workers; and their market is not dyadic, with individuals s...
426 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2017 | 8 |
| 2016 | 11 |