Agency Worker Research Articles

Possible avenues for a more effective temporary agency work directive

Fifteen years after the enactment of the EU Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work (TAWD) there are still considerable differences in the use of temporary agency work and in the legal situation, status, and working conditions of temporary agency workers within the European Union, even though these differences were one of the reasons for enacting the TAWD. This article evaluates whether the TAWD is still fit for its purpose – mainly, whether the objective of ensuring the protection of workers and the improvement of their working conditions have been achieved – by analysing its personal and material scope, taking into account the presence of other multiparty work arrangements. The article argues that an integral approach to multiparty work arrangements is needed to ensure the personal scope of the Directive is broad enough. Currently, the TAWD leaves (too) much room for deviation from the equal treatment principle, thereby missing a transparent level of worker protection. This makes the enforcement of the equal treatment principle significantly complicated. Lastly, the article argues that introducing a maximum period of the time that one temporary agency worker can be placed at the same user undertaking is the best way – the way with most legal certainty for all parties involved – to ensure that temporary agency work at the same user undertaking does not become a permanent situation for a temporary agency worker.

The ‘temporariness’ of temporary agency work assignments

To prevent the misuse of the equal treatment principle and successive assignments designed to circumvent the TAW Directive's provisions, Member States have to take appropriate measures in accordance with national law and/or practice (Art. 5(5)). One such measure, as mentioned but not further defined by the TAW Directive itself (Art. 3(1)(b) to (e)), involves limiting the duration of assignments. Not limiting, in one way or the other, the maximum period during which a temporary agency worker may be assigned to a user undertaking then might be problematic for a Member State, and may result in the TAW Directive being transposed incorrectly. Yet, the failure of the TAW Directive itself to set a maximum duration, while also not providing criteria by which to establish whether an assignment leads to a circumvention of the provisions of the Directive (Art. 5(5)), may lead to legal uncertainty for Member States and for those making use of the legal rules on temporary agency work. Against this background, this article addresses the question of the extent to which limiting the duration of the assignment, from both a European and national perspective, can prevent the misuse and circumvention of the provisions of the TAW Directive.

Furthering the Development of Virtual Agents and Communication Robot Devices through the Consideration of the Temporal Home

This paper extends current research on Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) within Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), focusing on how future virtual agents and communication robots can support the temporal structures and routines within the home. We recruited representatives from 15 households with varied compositions, ranging from single inhabitants to full nest families. Drawing upon P.G. Wodehouse’s The Inimitable Jeeves as an inspiration, the methodology sought to imitate the relationship between a recruitment agency worker (researcher) and an employer (participant) seeking to hire a personal assistant (e.g., a virtual agent or communication robot device) for their home. A ‘household audit’ comprising a guided household tour and an architectural survey was conducted to ascertain the nuanced spatiotemporal routines within the home. The study analysed the responses of participants using the Labovian narrative schema, a traditional method in linguistics research. The findings were then examined through the lens of Reddy et al.’s temporal features of work to understand how domestic work unfolds within the home from a temporal perspective. We argue that the temporal concepts discussed by Reddy et al. provided valuable insights into the temporal dynamics of everyday activities and could inform the design of virtual agents and communication robotic devices to fulfil their roles as domesticated ‘personal assistants’.

Occupational safety and health and temporary agency work in multiemployer restaurants.

Current occupational safety and health (OSH) literature calls for sociotechnical, system-level approaches that increase understanding of the underlying reasons for insufficient OSH performance in nonstandard employment that is associated with lower labour and social security protection when compared with traditional forms of work. This study focused on temporary agency work (TAW) which is a central form of nonstandard employment. The objective was to explore OSH issues in temporary agency work (TAW) in small and medium-sized multiemployer restaurants in Finland and discuss the issues from the perspectives of the agency worker, user company and agency. A directed content analysis method was used to examine the data obtained from semi-structured interviews (n = 20) with agency workers, restaurant managers and experts representing the temporary work agencies, a pension insurer, and a labour union. The balanced work system theory was used as a framework for this qualitative analysis. A variety of OSH risks and hazards in TAW were identified. In addition, the complexity of OSH management was highlighted in this triangular employment relationship between the agency worker, the user company, and the agency. This study reveals problems related to OSH in TAW. Restaurants are entities separate from agencies, so establishing and adhering to a common process of OSH management is not simple.

Making agency work: two labour regimes in a UK logistics workplace

An expanded use of agency workers has followed a series of economic shocks in the UK since the 2008 financial crisis. Agency workers, unlike permanent workers, comprise a wide range of workers without regular, secure and long-term employment relations. In this article we examine the inherently contradictory employment relationship embodied by agency workers, namely employers’ wish to stabilise and make the workforce more predictable by bringing in agency workers under insecure and unstable employment terms. Based on a significant single case study of a distribution centre, the study compares two agency work regimes: one with systematic screening and employment of pre-formed workers, and the other with strong normative control over fragmented under-formed workers. The study details management strategies aimed to improve workforce stability in the more fragmented agency worker regime by bringing an employment intermediatory on-site, building coherency between the permanent and agency workers, and restraining the supervisor’s power of dismissal. These findings problematise framing agency employment based on an assumption of continuous and selective inflow of migrant workers. Rather, contrasting agency worker regimes demonstrates contested employment relations between an increasingly diverse group of agency workers and an employer seeking to instigate predictability and coherency in agency employment.

Comparative analyses of occupational injuries among temporary agency worker and direct contract workers: Findings from the Korea Health Panel 2009-2018.

ObjectivesSeveral studies have reported health or safety risk of temporary agency workers (TAW). Since most of the studies are just cross‐sectional studies, we intended to identify the risk of occupational injury in TAW, using longitudinal study design.MethodsThe Korea Health Panel 2009–2018 data were used in the study. For the statistical analysis of this study, we used a panel logit model to identify the risk of occupational injury in TAW compared to direct contract workers (DCW).ResultsThere was no significant difference in risk of occupational injury between TAW and DCW among the overall population (adjusted OR 0.920, 95% CI 0.600–1.411). However, there was a significant increase in occupational injury in women (adjusted OR 2.134, 95% CI 1.092–4.170) and the “19–34” age group (adjusted OR 2.744, 95% CI 1.103–6.825) of TAW.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence for vulnerable groups such as women and younger age groups in the relationship between TAW and occupational injury.

Exploring the role of psychological need fulfilment on stress, job satisfaction and turnover intention in support staff working in inpatient mental health hospitals in the NHS: a self-determination theory perspective

Background Meeting psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness as described by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has been associated with increased well-being and job satisfaction in mental health staff and improved care outcomes for patients. Aims The study investigated whether psychological need satisfaction predicted stress, turnover intention and job satisfaction in health care assistants (HCA) working in inpatient mental health hospitals in the United Kingdom including full time (FT) and temporary agency worker (TAW) staff. Methods A cross-sectional survey explored need satisfaction between FT (n = 63) and TAW (n = 39) staff using the Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale. Multiple regression was used to explore whether satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness predicted scores on measures of stress, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Results Results were comparable between FT and TAW staff. Autonomy was the need least satisfied, a need which predicted self-reported job satisfaction, stress and turnover intention. Relatedness also predicted job satisfaction and turnover intention. Conclusions Recommendations are made to explore experiences of (and barriers to) autonomy and relatedness in inpatient HCA staff to target and improve autonomy and relatedness in this workforce. Implications of doing so are considered at a staffing, organisational and patient level.

Ugovorni odnosi u vezi s privremenim agencijskim radom

U radu se obrađuju ugovorni odnosi u vezi s privremenim agencijskim radom, i to posebnosti ugovora o radu između agencije (kao poslodavca) i radnika, ugovorni odnos između agencije i korisnika te faktični odnos između korisnika i agencijskih radnika. Ti su ugovorni odnosi analizirani s aspekta hrvatskoga i slovenskog radnog prava, prava EU-a i dobre prakse nekoliko europskih država.

O impacto da formação profissional ofertada, por meio do programa Pronatec, para a ocupação de vagas de postos formais de trabalho, entre 2011 e 2015

Entre os anos de 2011 e 2015, o Pronatec mobilizou cerca de 9,4 milhões de matrículas e mais de 13 bilhões de reais, o que caracterizou o programa como a Política Pública de Educação Profissional de maior grandiosidade, considerando, além dos números citados, os subprogramas por ele abarcados e os ministérios e secretarias mobilizados. Entretanto, embora seu saldo apresente números vultosos, pouco foi o impacto da formação profissional ofertada, por meio do Pronatec, para a ocupação de vagas de postos formais de trabalho no mesmo período. O estudo analisou as vagas disponíveis na Agência do Trabalhador, no município de Cascavel, estado do Paraná, e as entrelaçou com as ofertas dos cursos do Pronatec na mesma região. Essa análise constatou que, embora mais de sete mil profissionais tenham sido capacitados no referido município, não houve queda no número de vagas em aberto na Agência do Trabalhador.

여행사 종사원의 직무스트레스가 직무소진, 이직의도에 미치는 영향

This study aims to analyze the influence of travel agency worker’s job stress from work process on job burnout and turnover intention through empirical study. The purpose of this study is to provide basic data for travel agency’s human resources management and to reduce turnover rate. In the factor analysis, travel agency worker’s job burnout was divided into emotional burnout and decrease of personal fulfillment while job stress and turnover intention were composed of single dimension. The hypothesis testing result was as follows. First, the travel agency worker’s job stress had significant influence on emotional burn out and decrease of personal fulfillment. This shows that job stress during the work cause the decrease of work efficiency and motivations influencing on the performance of the organization. Secondly, the travel agency worker’s emotional burnout and decrease of personal fulfillment had significant influence on turnover intention. It is assumed that the job burnout influences on the turnover intention as the travel agency worker perceives job burnout in the organizational level instead of individual level and that job burnout. Thus, the job stress in the work place increases job burnout while job burnout also increases turnover intention.

Spray Drift from a Conventional Axial Fan Airblast Sprayer in a Modern Orchard Work Environment.

Pesticide spray drift represents an important cause of crop damage and farmworker illness, especially among orchard workers. We drew upon exposure characteristics from known human illness cases to design a series of six spray trials that measured drift from a conventional axial fan airblast sprayer operating in a modern orchard work environment. Polyester line drift samples (n = 270; 45 per trial) were suspended on 15 vertical masts downwind of foliar applications of zinc, molybdenum, and copper micronutrient tracers. Samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and resulting masses were normalized by sprayer tank mix concentration to create tracer-based drift volume levels. Mixed-effects modeling described these levels in the context of spatial variability and buffers designed to protect workers from drift exposure. Field-based measurements showed evidence of drift up to 52 m downwind, which is approximately 1.7 times greater than the 30 m (100 ft) 'Application Exclusion Zone' defined for airblast sprayers by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard. When stratified by near (5 m), mid (26 m), and far (52 m) distances, geometric means and standard deviations for drift levels were 257 (1.8), 52 (2.0), and 20 (2.3) µl, respectively. Fixed effect model coefficients showed that higher wind speed [0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.35, 0.70] and sampling height (0.16; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.20) were positively associated with drift; increasing downwind distance (-0.05; 95% CI: -0.06, -0.04) was negatively associated with drift. Random effects showed large within-location variability, but relatively few systematic changes for individual locations across spray trials after accounting for wind speed, height, and distance. Our study findings demonstrate that buffers may offer drift exposure protection to orchard workers from airblast spraying. Variables such as orchard architecture, sampling height, and wind speed should be included in the evaluation and mitigation of risks from drift exposure. Data from our study may prove useful for estimating potential exposure and validating orchard-based bystander exposure models.

Client organizations and the management of professional agency work: The case of English health and social care

A growing reliance on agency workers can lead to significant risks for client organizations, especially in core organizational roles. It has been suggested while these risk can be mitigated through investments in human resource management (HRM) directed at agency workers, in reality these will be hard to implement. This article draws upon Lepak and Snell's (1999) HR architecture model and uses a comparative case study method to explore this issue, focusing on agency working in core nursing and qualified social worker roles. The findings illustrate how client organizations can become more involved in the management of agency workers than has previously been acknowledged. Our analysis also identifies the conditions that shape this client‐side involvement, including the nature of agency worker contracts, the role of temporary work agencies, competing organizational cost‐control priorities, and perceptions of the regulatory context. These conditions are brought together in a general model for understanding the largely neglected role that client organizations play in the HR management of agency workers.

The Motivation of Temporary Agency Workers: An Empirical Analysis

We are investigating the relationship between individual and job-related characteristics and the motivation of temporary agency workers. To do so, we are using a unique dataset from one of Germany's largest temporary work agencies. For 3,000 temporary agency workers, a subjective motivation appraisal is provided by the respective direct manager within the hiring company. It is possible to observe a positive relationship between the decision on transition to regular employment and the motivation of temporary agency workers. Women in temporary agency work demonstrate a higher degree of motivation than men. However, in the case of men a clearer correlation can be observed between project duration and motivation. A change of hiring company with follow-up projects has a negative effect on the temporary agency worker's motivation.

Posting and agency work in British construction and hospitality: the role of regulation in differentiating the experiences of migrants

This article engages with IHRM debates on the transnational regulation of labour, exploring how migration policy and work fragmentation affect employment dynamics in multi-employer settings. It draws from two qualitative case studies on migrant workers in British hospitality and construction, focusing on regulatory outcomes of the Agency Worker Directive, the Posting of Workers Directive and the Tier System of immigration. The findings illustrate how workers’ experiences are critically shaped by the combination of their migration and employment statuses in the context of firms’ restructuring strategies and transnational labour mobility. Temporal employment constraints and exclusion from equal treatment linked to migrant status, combined with labour subcontracting across the sectors, produce intensification of work, inferior terms and conditions, greater insecurity and dependence for migrant temporary workers. The main argument is that increasing differentiation between categories of migrant workers goes beyond the simple distinction of EU and Third Country Nationals, and is produced by the exceptional regulatory spaces into which these migrants are locked. Highlighting the combined influence of migration regulation and management restructuring practices, the article proposes a re-theorisation of IHRM that includes migration perspectives into the study of management changes and labour regulation.

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY AGENCY EMPLOYEES WHEN ACTING AS PRIMARY POINT OF CARE CONTACTS FOR FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH SUSPECTED DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN TORONTO ONTARIO

Abstract BACKGROUND: Identification and referral of children for developmental evaluation is complex. Children with adverse social determinants of health (SDOH), and newcomer families face additional barriers to accessing developmental services, and their caregivers require further support in managing their child’s developmental care. The routine pathway to diagnosis is referral to a developmental specialist by a primary care physician, however, families with challenging SDOH often rely on community agency staff for a identification and referral. Community agency workers often play a key role in connecting families to primary care physicians (pediatricians and family physicians). However, very little is known on the experiences, challenges and role community workers play in their role as the primary point of care contact for families of children with developmental concerns. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the experiences and challenges that community agency employees face in their role of a primary point of care contact for families with children showing signs of developmental delay and liaison to primary care physicians. DESIGN/METHODS: A qualitative grounded theory approach was used through a series of focus group discussions. Participants were school board employees or staff members of Toronto-area community agencies that offer assessments, referrals, or early intervention programs for children with a suspected or diagnosed developmental diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of twelve community agency employees and school board workers from six different community agencies participated in focus groups. Community agency employees reported the following barriers in completing their role; 1) parental denial of their childs developmental concerns, 2) difference of opinions between a pediatricians diagnosis and the community workers opinion about the child development, and 3) restrictions in the referral process resulting in delayed developmental diagnosis. Community agency workers attributed these barriers to the lack of communication between physician and community agencies. They suggested opportunities to collaborate with primary care physicians; Its going to have to be a collaboration between the doctors and the workers in supporting all these families and provide the services, but also making sure that the news isbeing delivered at the right time.”- Community Agency Worker 1. CONCLUSION: There is a currently a disconnect between primary care physicians and community agency workers in identifying, diagnosing, and managing children with developmental concerns. This study highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment and integration of services and professionals when managing children with developmental concerns.

Temporary agency work: evolution, regulation and implications for performance

Purpose Temporary agency working continues to grow in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to look at a number of important developments in the agency industry, which generate implications for the performance of agencies, temps and the user firms in which temps work and to set out some of the key performance implications of these developments. These developments are: the increasingly complex set of contractual arrangements between agencies and user firms; the changing regulatory environment; and the changing role of agencies in pay setting. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the state of the art literature on agency working, and draws on 15 years of primary research and secondary analysis of the sector by the authors. Findings The paper shows that there is a proliferation of models of temporary agency worker supply, some of which involves agencies playing a greater role within firms in the management of temps, with other involving a deliberate and strategic distancing of client firms and/or agency in the day-to-day management of temps. This creates significant challenges for the management of temps. The paper also finds that there are significant tensions and challenges arising from the implementation of the Agency Working Regulations, even though these regulations have the potential to raise motivation and performance of temps. Practical implications The management of temps creates significant challenges for organisations and agencies. New models of supply of agency labour have the potential to make these challenges even more problematic, if not addressed effectively. The implications of the shifting regulatory and political environment also need closer scrutiny, particularly in the context of the recent EU referendum result in the UK. Originality/value The paper sheds light on a number of new developments in the agency sector, and by demonstrating their effects on organisations, agencies and temps, draws out some of the performance implications of the continued and changing use of agency temps.

Debate: Worker (mis)classification

‘Employee’, ‘self-employed’, ‘quasi-employee’, ‘hybrid circumstances’, ‘atypical worker’, ‘flexible worker’, ‘contractor’, ‘temporary worker’, ‘homeworker’, ‘agency worker’, ‘independent profession...

TFP, Labor Productivity and the (Un)Observed Labor Input: Temporary Agency Work

The study focuses on the question of whether productivity estimates are biased due to the emergence of a new input that is usually omitted: temporary agency worker (TAW). The study analyzes labor productivity and TFP by means of a structural approach using a representative dataset of German manufacturing firms. The empirical results show, once TAW is taken into account, that: i) labor productivity in most manufacturing sectors is significantly lower; ii) average TFP differs significantly in most sectors; but iii) the coefficients for regular labor are not significantly different between estimations with and without TAW.

Vulnerability and agency work: from the workers’ perspectives

Purpose– The notion of worker vulnerability is often seen as synonymous with disadvantage in discussions of nonstandard work. The purpose of this paper is to separate and examine these two notions by considering economic, social and psychological perspectives and exploring the reality as experienced by agency workers.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 178 Australian clerical agency workers employed by eight agencies completed a mail questionnaire. Personalised responses were subjected to computer-assisted template analysis.Findings– Sample characteristics revealed a gendered and heterogeneous workforce. Findings showed evidence of economic, psychological and social vulnerabilities although favourable features were also reported. This apparent contradiction suggests linkages between the features of nonstandard work, worker preferences, individual characteristics and the experience of worker vulnerability.Research limitations/implications– The notion of varying degrees of worker vulnerability offers a new lens to investigate agency work. The relatively small sample size, focus on clerical work and features of the Australian context may limit generalisability.Practical implications– Findings demonstrate the nature and extent of agency worker vulnerability which allows us to offer policy interventions for governments, agencies and user organisations and insights for prospective agency workers.Originality/value– The widespread use of agency workers provides an imperative for frameworks to assess the nuances of the agency work experience. This study presents the reality of agency work as experienced by the workers and reveals the good and bad aspects of agency work.

Factors Associated with Staff Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Family Group Conferences

AbstractObjective: Family Group Conferencing (FGC) challenges the entrenched practice of child welfare service providers making decisions for children and families. Instead, FGC positions families as capable planners and decision-makers given proper support and resources. Implementation research in general highlights the importance of agency climate, worker characteristics, and attitudes in predicting buy-in and efficacy of programming. Prior research shows social work staff differ in their opinions of FGC, but little research connects these attitudes to staff and agency characteristics and, ultimately, referrals and outcomes. Method: We explore the influence of staff, agency, and service availability factors on staff perceptions of effectiveness of FGC using Bayesian model averaging with 252 staff surveys. Results: The results imply that worker attitudes about FGC effectiveness are a product of attitudes towards families, type of work responsibility, and the perception of resources or services in the ext...