Employee voice and silence in temporary agency work

Abstract

Despite the increasing relevance of temporary agency work, studies dealing with this type of work arrangement in reference to employees’ voice and silence have remained rare so far. Literature mainly deals with voice mechanisms and processes with reference to traditional (permanent) workplaces. The present study tackles peculiarities of employee voice in the context of temporary agency work. The empirical material, based on 19 interviews with German temporary agency workers and agency managers, reveals that temporary agency work abounds in mechanisms inducing employee silence, but also contains instances supporting voice. Several structural and social conditions surrounding this employment mode turn out to be decisively important for processes of silence and voice, like the duration of assignments, working and task arrangements, power status of temporary employees, fear and support of agency.