Portfolio working – a psychological analysis of the phenomenon

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<b>Background</b><br /> It turns out from the latest Eurostat data that Poland holds the second place in Europe in terms of the number of so-called portfolio workers, i.e. persons who work for more than one employer. From the psychological point of view, there arises the question regarding the possible determinants of the mentioned phenomenon. Therefore the general purpose of this study is to present the personal and situational indicators of portfolio working. <br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> Two hundred and eighteen portfolio workers and 218 workers employed in one workplace (i.e. monoworkers) participated in research using the following set of ‘paper-pencil’ techniques: a self-made survey, the Value Scale by Rokeach, the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour – Temperament Questionnaire by Zawadzki and Strelau, the Masculinity and Femininity Scale by Lipińska-Grobelny and Gorczycka, and the Organizational Climate Questionnaire by Kolb. <br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> Portfolio working is mainly determined by a number of personal variables (temperamental characteristics, values and spheres of motivation, intensity of masculinity and femininity). A specific role is played by values represented by portfolio workers. The discriminant analysis conducted in groups selected on the basis of working hours indicates that the prediction of participation of the examined persons in the group of portfolio workers with the greatest accuracy appeared in the case of a workload of 48 or more hours, next in the case of a smaller workload up to 47 hours, and finally for the whole group. <br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> The examination of the phenomenon of portfolio working from the psychological perspective presents an important contribution to the discussion on work and directions of its transformations.