Non-standard Employees Research Articles

The cost of ‘cost reduction’: An integrative review of blended workgroups

Blended workgroups, comprising both standard and nonstandard employees, are increasingly used by organisations to reduce costs, however, evidence on their effectiveness has been mixed. This integrative review analyses 96 relevant empirical studies, and organises the findings along three themes: impacts at individual and organisational levels, theoretical perspectives explaining the mechanisms of workgroup dynamics, and contingency factors influencing benefits and costs. Our findings offer four key insights: the importance of composition, the need for a multi-perspective approach, the development of targeted management practices, and the significance of career lifecycle management, all of which have important managerial implications. We suggest five avenues for future research: integrating theoretical perspectives, addressing employee psychological well-being, considering contextual factors, examining temporal changes, and analysing the impact of gender dynamics.

The impact of labor market reforms on firm training for nonregular and regular workers

AbstractNonstandard employment is typically associated with reduced opportunities for workers to accumulate human capital via job training. One policy response is to require equal access to training for nonstandard employees. In this study, we investigate the impact of a 2007 Korean labor‐market reform that required such access for nonstandard employees. Using a difference‐in‐difference methodology, we find that, overall, the reform reduced the incidence of employer‐provided training for both regular and nonregular workers. At the employer level, the negative effect for regular workers attenuates over time, implying some type of adaptation or evasion by employers that preserves differential rates of training. Although the main effects on training were negative, we find considerable heterogeneity in outcomes. Specifically, the presence of a union is associated with a significantly greater probability of postreform training for nonregular workers, while the presence of performance‐pay systems is associated with a significantly lower probability for nonregular workers and a higher probability for regular workers. Ultimately, these results imply that the success of labor‐market reforms that seek to improve nonstandard job quality depends upon employer and labor‐market characteristics. Such reforms may be most successful in situations where unions can help assure compliance with legislative intent.

The Significance of Work Productivity in the Context of Non-Standard Employment

Work productivity holds immense importance for all employers, irrespective of whether they employ traditional or flexible solutions. Most human resource management strategies focus on tools conducive to employee efficiency, thereby enhancing organizational effectiveness and productivity. When exploring various psychological variables relevant to the psychology of work and organizations, popularity and productivity emerge as critical, as productivity correlates with all other psychological dimensions due to the ongoing pursuit of enhancing workplace efficiency. This article presents research findings from a study involving n=2118 non-standard employees.

Опыт пенсионного обеспечения самозанятых в странах ОЭСР и возможности его применения в России

The processes of destandardization of employment and a reduction in the scope of traditional hired labor, which are actively developing in the modern labor market, create significant problems and imbalances in pension systems, exacerbating the negative impact of demographic factors. In the time of growth in various forms of self-employment, an urgent task of pension policy is to ensure a balance between the interests of the self-employed, standard and non-standard employees and the financial capabilities of the budget; between the sustainability of the pension system and the adequacy of pensions for all participants. The article considers the problems of pension provision for the self-employed in OECD countries and Russia. Various approaches to pension provision for the self-employed, their strengths and weaknesses, associated challenges and risks for pension systems are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the possibilities of using foreign experience in Russia. There are limited opportunities to pay contributions for the majority of self-employed people and they lack interest in voluntary pension insurance due to the low size of their future pension. Attention is also drawn to the risk of outflow of self-employed people from the registered segment in the event of the introduction of mandatory pension contributions. It is concluded that in present day Russia it is advisable to maintain the voluntary participation of the self-employed in the pension system in combination with increasing motivation to join the long-term savings program by introducing additional preferences for the self-employed, for example, an increase in the terms and share of state co-financing.

Happiness among Nonstandard Employees in Europe: The Role of the Worker’s Value Orientation and Sources of Social Support

This study explored self-reported happiness among nonstandard (part-time, temporary, and no-contract) employees in Europe. Rooted in Theory of basic individual values and the modified Buffer hypothesis, it focused on the role of worker’s value orientation and sources of social support/social buffers. Data stemmed from European Social Survey 2018 and Eurostat datasets, and was analyzed using multilevel modeling. As an introductory insight, “feeling good”, i.e., happiness was found associated with the respondents’ age, sex, and income – in favor of younger employees, women, and those with higher salaries. The value orientation identified as beneficial for happiness included being an “open hedonist” and not caring much about being “powerful”. Related to social buffers, happiness was positively associated with household-provided support, whereas support from welfare state policies, trade unions, and prosperous socio-economic environment had no effect.

How Firms Transfer Financial Risks to Employees: Stock Price Volatility and CEO Power

Purpose - We investigate how firms transfer financial risks to employees in a form of flexible employment contracts and layoffs. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the literature on the prevalence of shareholder value ideology and the associated ‘risk shift’, we examined how stock price volatility is associated with a firm’s use and hiring of nonstandard employees, and the number of employees lay-offed. We test our hypotheses using a longitudinal, multi-source, dataset of Korean firms from 2003 to 2011. Findings - We found support for the relationship between stock price volatility and flexible employment contracts and layoffs after controlling for actual risks such as increased debt or decreased sales. However, we found that the relationship is moderated by the power of professional CEOs relative to that of shareholders, in that powerful CEOs are more likely to transfer the external risks, i.e. stock price volatility, to employees. Research implications or Originality - This study contributes the emerging stream of literature that explore the effect of stock market pressures and governance structures on human resource management.

The Effects of Employment Status: Mediating Role of Relative Deprivation and Hostile Emotions

This study aims to understand why and when disadvantaged employment status relates to nonstandard employees’ interpersonal behavior. Drawing on relative deprivation theory, this study proposes a sequential moderated mediation model in which disadvantaged employment status activates relative deprivation and hostile emotions toward standard employees (i.e., resentment, anger, and envy), and thereby spur interpersonal deviance. Further, this study posits that in-group identification moderates the relationship between relative deprivation and hostile emotions. Using multi-wave and multi-source data from a sample of 311 nonstandard employees in China, results showed that relative deprivation and hostile emotions towards standard employees sequentially mediate the effects of disadvantaged employment status on interpersonal deviance, and in-group identification enhances the positive effects of relative deprivation on interpersonal deviance through hostile emotions towards standard employees. These findings provide implications for theory and practice.

The Business Case for Workforce Racial Diversity: Options- and Project-Based Human Resource Management in Large U.S. Law Firms

This study is an attempt to elucidate the effects of workforce racial diversity on organizational performance by incorporating an important organization-level moderating condition—an organization’s use of human resource management (HRM) practices. Specifically, this study examines how options- and project-based HRM have influence on the racial diversity–performance relationship. Using the longitudinal data sets of 192 U.S. law firms spanning multiple years (2001–2008), we examined the interactive effects of workforce racial diversity and a set of HRM practices (use of nonstandard employees, lateral hiring, pay dispersion, and training/communication) on organizational performance (profitability). Our findings revealed that while an organization’s reliance on nonstandard employment, lateral hiring, and large pay dispersion has significant negative influence on the racial diversity–performance relationship, training/communication has no clear moderating impact. In sum, the results indicated that when organizations adopt more project-based HRM practices (high levels of nonstandard employment, lateral hiring, and pay dispersion) rather than options-based ones, the effect of workforce racial diversity is likely to become negative on organizations’ bottom-line performance.

Digital Unions. Right to Association and Representation: New Challenges

The article is devoted to the issue of ensuring the right to representation and the right to unite employees by creating digital trade unions. The analysis of the practice of the Trade Union of Public Education and Science Workers of the Russian Federation on the transition to a single electronic database (platform) leads the author to the conclusion that the digital trade union in modern conditions is an effective means of implementing the statutory functions and protecting the social and labor rights of trade union members. The article also reflects the problems of creating digital trade unions at enterprises using non-standard forms of employment: the majority of non-standard employees are not members of a trade union, which deprives them of the opportunity for appropriate protection from trade union organizations. And with the growth of non-standard forms of employment, there is a reduction in solidary participants in labor relations, and a reduction in subsidiary ones. In addition, there is a tendency to reduce the total number of trade union organizations, as clearly evidenced by trade union statistics.

Curbing Precariousness Facing Non-Standard Employees in the Private Security Industry: Employers’ Viewpoint

The pervasiveness of precariousness facing non-standard employees in Zimbabwe’s private security industry has for long become a major cause of concern, specifically as the global demand for decent employment is gaining momentum. This qualitative research study examined strategies applied by and challenges facing employers in curbing precariousness among the predominantly fixed-term contracted employees in the private security industry in Zimbabwe. The study involved 15 participants who were purposively identified from the Security Association of Zimbabwe, the largest employer association in the industry. A major finding of the study was that the nature of business service in the security industry led companies to engage personnel mostly on a fixed-term contractual type of employment. Such employment was found to be associated with poor and decimating conditions of work for the security personnel in the industry, and that much of their work life was enveloped in intense precariousness. The major impediments amplifying the failure to tackle employee precariousness in the security industry include the existence of fragmented relationships between two divergent employer associations in the industry, the prevalence of unregistered security firms, perceived improper regulation of the industry, and weakened employee representation by workers’ committees and trade unions operating in the industry. It is the study contention that the creation of an enabling environment to redress unfair and poor working conditions facing security guards is indispensable. Government lobbying to restructure the business regulatory framework is considered fundamental to the independent and autonomous functioning of the industry, and a precursor to tackling aggravated employee precariousness.

Relationships among burnout, job dissatisfaction, psychosocial work conditions and minor mental disorders of precarious employment in Taiwan

Background: Precarious employment is a major determinant of mental health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic and development of digital economic platforms have enhanced the ratio of precarious employment relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships among burnout, job dissatisfaction, psychosocial work conditions and minor mental disorders of precarious employment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using the questionnaire from a national survey of employees in 2013. Minor mental disorder was measured using the five-item brief symptom rating scale (BSRS-5). 1909 males and 1499 females, with a total of 3408 non-standard employees aged 20 to 65, including short-term and temporary precarious employment, have been analyzed. Also obtained were participants’ sex, age, type of industry, status of shift work, job dissatisfaction, burnout as well as psychosocial work conditions. Results: The prevalence of minor mental disorders among precarious work condition in man and women were 16.08% and 19.35%, respectively. When we adjusted age and status of shift work, associations between minor mental disorders and female, job dissatisfaction, increased scores in burnout, and high psychological demand of work was noticed. When we further categorized by sex, it was found that job dissatisfaction and increased scores in burnout were significantly related with an increased risk for minor mental disorders in both male and female workers. The odds of minor mental disorders was significantly related with an increased scores in psychological demand of work among female precarious workers. Conclusions: This research study provides directions for future researches.

Precarious Employment and Psychosocial Hazards: A Cross-Sectional Study in Stockholm County.

Precarious employment (PE) has been linked to adverse health effects, possibly mediated through psychosocial hazards. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to explore if higher levels of PE are associated with psychosocial hazards (experiences of violence, sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination, high demands, and low control) and to explore gender differences in these patterns. The study is based on survey- and register data from a sample of 401 non-standard employees in Stockholm County (2016–2017). The level of PE (low/high) was assessed with the Swedish version of the employment precariousness scale (EPRES-Se) and analysed in relation to psychosocial hazards by means of generalized linear models, with the Poisson family and robust variances. After controlling for potential confounders (gender, age, country of birth, and education), the prevalence of suffering bullying (PR 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01–1.13) and discrimination (PR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.00–2.32) was higher among individuals with a high level of PE. Regarding the demand/control variables, a high level of PE was also associated with low control (PR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.30–1.96) and passive work (the combination of low demands and low control) (PR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.23–2.08). Our findings suggest that workers in PE are more likely to experience psychosocial hazards, and these experiences are more prevalent among women compared to men. Future longitudinal studies should look further into these associations and their implications for health and health inequalities.

Policy Forum: Non-Standard Employment and Canada's Initial Pandemic Response

Despite public attention to gig workers and their potential mis-classification as independent contractors, much flexible work already takes place in the sphere of formal employment. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market suggests that non-standard employees may be even more vulnerable than the self-employed. This article suggests that traditional employment insurance and related programs inadequately serve flexible employees, and policies targeted at the intensive margins of employment are needed to help precarious workers.

Non-standard employment modeling in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Purpose: To determine the factors affecting non-standard employment in the Republic of Kazakhstan and their quantitative characteristics using the SmartPLS software.Methods: Over the course of research we have been using the methods of sociological survey, structural equations modeling (SEM) based on SmartPLS, and partial least squares (PLS).Results: We have hypothesized and tested the influence of such factors as education, social security, the human factor and digitalization on non-standard employment. We have assessed all test tasks and the suitability of the test entity. Using the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, we have tested the internal consistency of the test questions and measured the effect of each question on the latent variable. Most of the indicators have high indicators, with the exception of the “Digitalization” factor. The low value of this factor is justified by the heterogeneity of the test responses. We have calculated average variance extraction (AVE) and reliability (Composite Reliability) coefficients of the model. We have checked the model variables for multicollinearity and calculated the determination coefficient.Conclusions: Results of the analysis show that today the major issue is the lack or low accumulation of human capital among non-standard employees. The value of the R-square determination coefficient for the dependent variable “Non-Standard Employment” has a high value (0.75), which indicates that the factors included in the model describe well and have a high degree of influence on it. In general, the structural analysis has shown that the resulting model is adequate and built fairly well. Path Coefficients, reliability and validity coefficients are high enough to assess and analyze non-standard employment.

Work flexibility and firm growth: evidence from LEED data on the Emilia-Romagna region

AbstractIn the last decades, work flexibility emerged as a key requirement firms must meet to face volatile markets and highly differentiated product demand. This article compares two alternative approaches to strengthen work flexibility: internal flexibility, that is, practices that focus on the employees’ ability to perform a variety of highly qualified tasks in a context of stable employment relationships; and external flexibility, that is, practices that align employment and labor costs to demand fluctuations using a buffer of nonstandard employees involved in routine tasks. We empirically verify whether both practices are able to boost sales growth using a linked employer-employee panel of manufacturing firms from the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy). While internal flexibility positively affects firm growth, external flexibility is at best not significant, and in some empirical specifications, it appears to hamper firm growth. Such a negative effect, however, decreases when we limit the analysis to industries with high demand volatility and cost-based competition. The related managerial and policy implications are discussed.

Nonstandard Employment and Organizational Effectiveness: The Transition from Nonstandard to Standard Employment in South Korea

To address the insecure work conditions of nonstandard employment, South Korea’s government is transitioning nonstandard employment to standard employment in public organizations. Despite this policy’s normative adequacy, previous studies have rarely focused on the impact of these employment practices on organizational effectiveness. To fill this gap, we examine how the rates of nonstandard employment and transition, and the interaction between them, affect organizational effectiveness. Using longitudinal data from public organizations in South Korea and the generalized method of moments analysis, the results show that the transition policy has conflicting consequences depending on employment type. Direct nonstandard employment transitions negatively impact organizational effectiveness, contrary to indirect nonstandard employment’s positive impact. We suggest that a transition policy should be implemented to improve nonstandard employees’ work conditions and their relationship with their initial standard employment.

Non-standard employment of scientific and pedagogical workers of Russian universities

The article discusses the reasons for non-standard employment of scientific and pedagogical workers (SPW) of Russian universities, the inclusion of SPW in non-standard employment and its consequences both for individual SPW and for society as a whole. Various options for non-standard employment have already become firmly established in the realities of the labor market, and are analyzed in a number of studies. At the same time, for certain professional qualification groups of employees or for certain industries, such an analysis is absent both at the level of theory and at the level of empirical material. This statement applies, among other things, to the employment of SPW. Based on the analysis of the literature, the author offers a classification of types of non-standard employment of SPW of Russian universities based on the number of hours of their work and the presence of additional employment - there are identified 11 groups of non-standard employees. The article also describes three groups of factors: external factors relative to universities, intra-university factors and individual characteristics of the SPW, which affect the involvement of the SPW in non-standard employment. These factors currently chaotically affect the nature and content of the work of the SPW. At the same time, having an assessment of the impact of these factors, it is possible to formulate a clear employment management policy. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that there is a need for empirical research in the field of non-standard employment of SPW. This need is due to the current lack of full-fledged empirical studies on this problem, the prevalence of non-standard employment practices among SPW in universities, as well as the presence of negative consequences of non-standard employment of SPW in Russian universities. It is noted that non-standard employment contributes to the formation of labor precarization.

Precarious employment and general, mental and physical health in Stockholm, Sweden: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate the association between precarious employment and health in a sample of non-standard employees in Stockholm County, Sweden, by addressing three specific research questions: is the degree of precarious employment (low, moderate, high) associated with self-rated. . . (a) general health, (b) mental health, (c) musculoskeletal pain? Methods: Web-based respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit a sample of 415 employees in Stockholm, Sweden, during 2016–2017. Questionnaire data were collected on employment conditions (the Swedish version of the employment precariousness scale (EPRES-Se)), general health, mental health and musculoskeletal pain. EPRES-Se scores were categorised as low, moderate or high. Generalised linear models with Poisson distribution, log link functions and robust variances were applied for calculating crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR; aPR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all outcomes. Results: The prevalence ratios of poor self-rated general and mental health increased with increased degree of precariousness, as indicated by estimates of moderate precarious employment (a2PRModerate 1.44 (CI 0.98–2.11); a2PRModerate 1.13 (CI 0.82–1.62)), and high precarious employment (a2PRHigh 1.78 (CI 1.21–2.62); a2PRHigh 1.69 (CI 1.25–2.28)), albeit only significantly so for high precarious employment. Conclusions: This is the first study in Sweden reporting on the association between precarious employment, as measured with a multidimensional scale, and multiple health outcomes. The results add to the evidence of an association between precarious employment and self-rated poor general and mental health. Larger, representative studies with longitudinal designs using the EPRES-Se are called for in order to strengthen these results and the already existing evidence of the harm of precarious employment.

A neglected issue in hospital emergency and disaster planning: Non-standard employment in hospitals

Work organization and relationships have changed over recent decades. Following the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the norms concerning work-related standards will likely change even more significantly. There has been a shift away from standard employment to non-standard employment (NSE), which includes fixed-term, part-time, on-call, agency-related employment, dependent self-employment, dispatch, and temporary employment, etc. In nearly every sector. The health sector is no exception. However, the effects of non-standard employment on the disaster preparedness of health systems, particularly on hospitals' emergency and disaster plans, have not yet been adequately studied. Most crucial themes are engagement of non-standard employees in emergency and disaster planning and response, and the impact of non-standard employees in expanding hospitals’ capacity in large-scale events. This short communication paper aims to discuss this neglected issue in hospital emergency and disaster planning.In order to see whether NSE is considered in hospital disaster and emergency plans, two hospital disaster and emergency planning guidelines—the Hospital Incident Command System, and the Hospital Emergency Response Checklist developed by the World Health Organization—were assessed regarding NSE in their respective contexts. Although these guidelines are comprehensive tools for hospital preparedness, NSE is not specifically considered in any of them. However, it is essential that NSE, with its trade-offs, is considered in disaster plans to maintain an effective implementation of them. Further research and actions are necessary, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, to identify how this reflection should be conducted and to supply evidence for further measures and revising emergency and disaster planning guidelines.

Adequacy Analysis of the Basic Old-Age Pension System Based on Local Administrative Data in China

There is no consensus on the judgment of the adequacy status of the old-age pension benefit in China at present. Therefore, clarification of various types of indicators and benchmarks of pension adequacy is urgently needed. According to the theoretical development of pension adequacy, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the benefit level of basic pension from the perspectives of poverty alleviation, income substitution, and financial sustainability. The calculation results based on local administrative data show that the current pension benefit in urban China is unbalanced: on the one hand, the average pension level of self and flexible employees cannot keep track of the local average consumption level or even the relative poverty standard in particular years and the individual replacement rates for a few nonstandard employees are less than the minimum standard of 40% set by the International Labor Organization, which means the pension benefit performs poorly in terms of consumption smoothing. On the other hand, the lifelong pension rights are much higher than the lifelong contribution obligations for new retirees. Under the trend of population ageing, the extremely high benefit–cost ratio means that the current retired generation is eroding the welfare of the current working generations, and the long-term financial sustainability of the pension system is facing challenges. In the future, in order to improve the benefit level of the basic old-age pension system in a sustainable way, we need to increase the average and individual replacement rates and reduce the benefit–cost ratio by consolidating contribution bases and delaying the number of contribution years.