When Non-Standard Work Becomes Precarious: Insights from the New Zealand Call Centre Industry

Abstract

The issue of precarious employment has gained increasing currency over recent years, as OECD countries have shifted away from traditional standard employment models. Nevertheless, there has been little empirical research on the experiences of nonstandard workers and the links that can be established with precarious work. This article attempts to address this gap by introducing precarious employment as a sub-set of non-standard work and highlighting its distinguishing features. The Tucker model is introduced as a useful bridge between non-standard work and precariousness, and is used as a framework for examining employment experiences within two New Zealand call centres. Initial observations indicate evidence of precariousness in both workplaces, although more severe in the case of the small, outsourced call centre. In-depth analysis suggests precariousness varies depending on the nature of the employment arrangement and questions are put forth about the applicability of the 'Tucker' model to the call centre context. Key words: Non-standard, Precarious, Call centres, New Zealand Introduction The growing incidence and distribution of precarious work has caused significant concern amongst researchers, particularly in terms of the social costs associated with these working arrangements. The unregulated use of employment contracts and weak bargaining power mean that these workers often find themselves working in unsatisfactory conditions. Those in precarious employment often earn significantly less, work less desirable hours, face greater job insecurity and have access to fewer entitlements than their counterparts in more secure positions (Brosnan 1995; Alan 2000; Quinlan/Mayhew/Bohle 2000; Markey/Hodgkinson/Kowalczyk 2002; Tucker 2002). Although there is no necessary causal link between non-standard work and precarious employment, research indicates a strong association between the two concepts (Tucker 2002; Cranford/Vosko/Zukewich 2003). Recent studies indicate an increase in non-standard employment arrangements, including part-time work, selfemployment, temporary work and casual work (Carroll 1999; Felstead/Jewson 1999; Horwitz/Allan/Brosnan 2000; Campbell/Burgess 2001; Tucker 2002). Moreover, there is a variety of demand and supply side factors that can be identified in terms of contributing to the growth of non-standard employment forms. However, the question is: What are the linkages between non-standard work and precarious employment? And more fundamentally, What constitutes precariousness? The article endeavours to address these questions by examining the concept of 'precarious employment' as a sub-set of non-standard work as well as highlighting its distinguishing features within the context of two New Zealand call centre case studies. More specifically, a model developed by Tucker is introduced as a way of identifying key components of precarious employment (Tucker 2002). While there are a number of emergent models of precarious employment, it is argued that Tucker's model provides an antipodean viewpoint and useful bridge between non-standard work and precariousness. Based on an extensive literature review, Tucker identifies a number of indicators of precariousness and argues that it is the interaction of the nature of jobs and worker preferences that determines what constitutes precarious employment, but cautions it is an area where data is very limited, particularly in New Zealand and that there is a need for further research. Taking up Tucker's challenge, the article reports on a study of employment experiences within two New Zealand call centres - TEL·!, a large, inbound, in-house call centre; and MESO, a small, outbound outsourcer - in which Tucker's model is used as a framework. The rationale for focusing on New Zealand is that it provides an interesting national example of non-standard work that has relevance for other countries. The call centre sector also has been selected because of the phenomenal expansion of the industry both within New Zealand and overseas and the parallel concern with the poor working conditions that exist within many call centres (Frenkel et al. …