Temporary Contracts Research Articles

Robots, skills and temporary jobs: evidence from six European countries

ABSTRACT In our analysis of the impact of robot adoption on the use of flexible contracts in six European countries, we find that control for the type of innovation model that is dominant in an industry is crucial. In a ‘high knowledge cumulativeness’ innovation regime, robot adoption reduces the probability that high-skilled workers will receive temporary contracts, while no significant effect has been found for medium- and low-skilled workers. The rationale is: In a high cumulativeness regime, innovation depends on a firm’s internal knowledge sources, and high-skilled (rather than medium- and low-skilled) workers are crucial carriers of knowledge. The situation is different in ‘low-cumulativeness’ regimes. In the latter, firms are primarily using externally acquired knowledge in their innovation process. This makes workers more easily interchangeable and robot adoption significantly increases the probability to get temporary jobs for both medium- and high-skilled workers, but leaves low-skilled workers unaffected.

Condições de trabalho e saúde de trabalhadoras rurais: uma revisão integrativa

ABSTRACT Changes in the global rural workforce took place from 1980 onwards, above all, with the increase in female participation in salaried work. An integrative review of the literature on the working and health conditions of rural women workers, published from 2010 to 2020, was carried out. The databases consulted were BVS, SciELO and PubMed, and 43 studies, 11 national and 32 internationals, were analyzed. The results point to a diversity of work activities performed by rural women, in a salaried, autonomous and cooperative way, as well as unpaid activities. Working conditions in salaried jobs are generally precarious, with temporary contracts, low wages and long working hours. In autonomous work and in cooperatives, studies report greater control of activities, financial autonomy and greater satisfaction of workers. Stood out in all forms of work, the sexual division of labor and the work overload with the addition of productive activities, unpaid reproductive activities, housework and care work. Musculoskeletal disorders, suffering and mental illness, high exposure and poisoning to pesticides and violence in the work and domestic environment were identified as preponderant in the health-work relationships experienced by these rural women workers.

The multidimensional construct of precarious work, the future of work, and workers' health.

This essay aims to discuss the flexibilization of work, which has been accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an expansion of precarious work. Additionally, the essay seeks to explore theoretical models and methodological challenges for the study of precarious work, its dimensions, and its effects on workers' health. The health and economic crisis has heightened the social vulnerability of workers, introduced by the global flexibilization and the Brazilian Labor Reform. The setbacks materialize in precarious work, a multidimensional construct that encompasses the characteristics of this flexibilization in its three dimensions: (1) unstable work relationships resulting from insecure hiring, temporary contracts, involuntary part-time work, and outsourcing; (2) inadequate and unstable income; and (3) insufficient rights and protection, with reduced collective representation of workers, resulting in low power to react to degrading working conditions, lack of social security, and setbacks in regulatory support for labor safety. Repercussions of precarious work on health - work accidents, musculoskeletal and mental disorders - are evidenced in epidemiological studies, highlighting the theoretical and methodological limitations that still exist. The conclusion is that if the current bases of social protection and work insertion for workers are maintained, the future will see an expansion of precarious work. Thus, highlighting the causal relationships between precarious work and health is a contemporary challenge of the research and public policy agenda that is imposed upon society, with a focus on workers' health services.

O construto multidimensional trabalho precário, o futuro do trabalho e a saúde de trabalhadoras(es)

This essay aims to discuss the flexibilization of work, which has been accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an expansion of precarious work. Additionally, the essay seeks to explore theoretical models and methodological challenges for the study of precarious work, its dimensions, and its effects on workers’ health. The health and economic crisis has heightened the social vulnerability of workers, introduced by the global flexibilization and the Brazilian Labor Reform. The setbacks materialize in precarious work, a multidimensional construct that encompasses the characteristics of this flexibilization in its three dimensions: (1) unstable work relationships resulting from insecure hiring, temporary contracts, involuntary part-time work, and outsourcing; (2) inadequate and unstable income; and (3) insufficient rights and protection, with reduced collective representation of workers, resulting in low power to react to degrading working conditions, lack of social security, and setbacks in regulatory support for labor safety. Repercussions of precarious work on health − work accidents, musculoskeletal and mental disorders - are evidenced in epidemiological studies, highlighting the theoretical and methodological limitations that still exist. The conclusion is that if the current bases of social protection and work insertion for workers are maintained, the future will see an expansion of precarious work. Thus, highlighting the causal relationships between precarious work and health is a contemporary challenge of the research and public policy agenda that is imposed upon society, with a focus on workers’ health services.

Job Protection — It is Good to be an Insider

Abstract This study develops a search and matching model for labour markets with temporary and permanent contracts. It matches empirical patterns of higher matching rates and lower surplus for temporary workers and predicts an increase in separation taxes leads to a fall in the number of new permanent jobs, an increase in their wages, and stable separation rates because temporary workers shield permanent workers from adverse shocks. We find empirical support using a regional French policy experiment, the “Contrat de Transition Professionelle”, which increased separation taxes for recently hired permanent workers in firms with fewer than 1,000 workers.

Undesired consequences of labour market reforms: From temporary to precarious jobs - the case of Spain

One of the peculiarities of the Spanish labour market has been the existence of a high share of temporary employment, a result of the 1984 labour reform which made the use of temporary contracts more flexible. Since 1994, various reforms have sought to increase the use of open-ended contracts and discourage the use of fixed-term contracts. Although these reforms, in particular the 2012 and 2021 reforms, have led to a reduction in the share of temporary workers they have also created other unintended problems, such as a reduction in the duration of fixed-term contracts, the proliferation of part-time contracts and atypical open-ended contracts, and a high share of temporary employment in public sector.

Caring fathers in Europe: Toward universal caregiver families?

AbstractIncreasingly, men are challenging the assumption that care is a feminine task and are involving themselves in childcare and the care of dependent adults. However, this does not necessarily have consequences for their work, as they very rarely make costly adaptations in their working lives. In this study, we propose a definition of a man in care (MIC) as a working father who, in order to meet care needs, has adapted his working life in a way that potentially entails a financial penalty. We analyze the prevalence of men in care among men living with children below the age of 15 across the EU‐27 plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK using recent representative data (the European Labour Survey and its 2018 ad hoc module on work‐life balance). We find that although the number of men engaging in costly work adaptations is still very low when compared to their female counterparts, the characteristics of these men can be clearly outlined: they have a non‐manual occupation (managers excluded), they have temporary contracts or are self‐employed, they are partnered to women who hold jobs of 40 or more hours a week and have a high educational attainment, and they work in family‐friendly companies. Also, at the context level, the prevalence of MIC is clearly related to gender equality and values. However, we do not find evidence of any country having reached the universal caregiver model proposed by Nancy Fraser, including those with more advanced gender and welfare regimes.

Meta-Analysis of COVID-19 Spread in Meat Processing Plants and Recommended Practical Actions

Recently, the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased among workers of meat processing plants (MPPs) around the world. This study reviewed the possible routes of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and useful actions against it in slaughterhouses. The results revealed that the main factors for the spread of the virus included low indoor temperature, crowded area, wrong standing along production lines, contamination of high-touch surfaces, difficult education of workers with diverse native languages, low financial income, large MPPs with over 10 million Ib of packed meat per month, higher speed of production lines with 175 birds/minute, temporary contract of the workers, and weak approach of some meat processing companies against COVID-19 infection such as National Beef. COVID-19 transmission rate was 24 times higher among the workers of MPPs than among the population of the US. The practical actions against the spread of the virus were mainly marker using for remembering the previous location, mandatory mask use, especially FFP2/3 masks, and decentralization of large MPPs. By using the results of this study, slaughterhouse managers would be able to significantly control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and future bio-threats to workers of MPPs and even to society.

Moving policy out of time – commentary to Refstie

This paper is prompted by Hilde Refstie’s lecture on co-production and the role of academia in the search for sustainability in times of fast policymaking. My aim is to keep the conversation going by reflecting on how policy researchers negotiate all kinds of tensions and contradictions when traversing academic and policy worlds. It seems to me that those involved in making and researching fast policy are – in rather different ways – moving out of time: there is an urgent search for ‘solutions’ to the many, different crises we are now facing. Yet, the very existence of political alternatives requires holding open the possibility of interrupting the now all-too-familiar rhythms of fast policy. While calls for ‘slow scholarship’ may push back against the increasing tempo of the neoliberal academy, if we are not careful such appeals risk reproducing existing exclusions and inequalities, not least among those struggling by on temporary contracts. Confronting these dilemmas and antagonisms may help go some way towards reconfiguring research relevance in the present political moment.

Contract Academic Librarians in Canada

The temporary contract is often framed to Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) graduate students as a key gateway into the field of academic librarianship (Lacey 2019), and yet outside of a few important studies and personal reflections, literature on this topic is relatively scarce. This paper reports on the demographics of participant academic librarians who have held temporary contracts in Canada, their career paths, the conditions under which they held contracts, and their experiences of workplace integration and other positive and negative outcomes. Study participants (n=95) have held one or more temporary contracts as an academic librarian in Canada during their career. An online survey was distributed, asking closed and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed using Excel, Qualtrics, NVivo, and manual methods. Participants derived new skills, new networks, satisfaction and confidence from their contract experiences (though sometimes only in retrospect), while others felt excluded, overworked, undervalued, and prevented from making life decisions. And many felt all these things at the same time, meaning that contract academic librarians are caught in a difficult set of competing structural and emotional experiences.

Some Aspects Regarding the Temporary Employment Contract

This material aims, through its content, to present some particularities of the temporary employment contract seen as an innovative tool at the European and national level to make labor relations more flexible. The article begins with the presentation of the legal framework applicable to this type of employment contract, it continues with the explanation of the concept and the specific features of the contract, and ends with some considerations regarding the duration for which it can be concluded. Special attention is paid to the contractual clauses, but also to the trial period.

Is the Existing Model of Preventing the Abuse of Fixed-Term Employment Contracts in Poland and Germany Sufficient in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The need to prevent the abuse of fixed-term employment contracts, having its legal basis in the framework agreement on fixed-term work, implemented by Council Directive 99/70/EC, may have been weakened by the tendency to become more flexible in the face of the socio-economic conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic. From the point of view of an employee, it is important to be employed under an employment contract, ultimately for an indefinite period. Long-term employment on a temporary contract is associated with the phenomenon of precarization of employment and leads to segmentation in the labour market. The purpose of this paper is to answer the questions of whether the state of pandemic affects in some way the possibility of concluding fixed-term employment contracts, in particular whether it can constitute an objective reason justifying the conclusion of such an employment contract.

A Comprehensive Mixed Methods Approach for Studying the Quality of Life of Colombian Periodontists.

This study analyzed the association of the sociodemographic, labor, and health conditions on the quality of life (QOL) of the periodontists in Colombia. A mixed study (explanatory sequential design) was conducted. The first quantitative phase was carried out by a cross-sectional survey (n = 187; 60.4% females). Variables: sociodemographics, labor, and health conditions, QOL (WHOQOL-BREF). Normality tests, descriptive statistics, and bivariate analyzes were performed. Factors associated with QOL were established using multivariate linear regression. A second qualitative phase with two focus groups (FGs) delved into those aspects of relevance, through qualitative content analysis and triangulation of information. The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the factors associated with the QOL scores were in the case of men and negatively (QOL decreases): having low social support (p < 0.001), reporting poor mental health (p < 0.01). For women, QOL scores were negatively associated with low social support (p < 0.001), reporting poor general and mental health (p < 0.01), having greater stress at work (p < 0.05), having a temporary contract (p < 0.05), and living in a medium or low socioeconomic status (p < 0.05). The analysis of the FG allowed us to understand how QOL is permeated by the social context. The specialization of periodontics has generated a change in living conditions, and an adaptation to the workplace that allows them to gain recognition and a higher QOL. In conclusion, the QOL of periodontists is defined in subjective terms (standards) and related to social and labor conditions. Follow-up and evaluation strategies of the general conditions of these clinical specialists in Colombia are required.

Análisis de condiciones de precariedad en profesores universitarios con base en el tipo de contrato

Through the bibliographic identification of the several dimensions that characterizes labour precarity and using analysis of conglomerates and multinomial econometrics, based on data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (2017), this paper present eviden­ce of the existence of job insecurity conditions among a subset of the teaching staff employed in higher education institutions in Mexico. The results allow us to observe that there is a strong association between having a temporary contract or not having it, and the existence of precarious work conditions. In the most precarious conglomerate are localized the teachers without a contract, who, in addition to lacking social security, obtain the lowest income.

Current professional standing of young medical oncologists in Spain: a nationwide survey by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology + MIR section

BackgroundThere is a lack of knowledge about the career paths and employment situation of young medical oncologists. The aim of our study was to evaluate the current professional standing of these professionals in Spain.MethodsThe Spanish Society of Medical Oncology + MIR section conducted a national online survey in May 2021 of young medical oncology consultants (< 6 years of expertise) and final year medical oncology residents.ResultsA total of 162 responses were eligible for analysis and included participants from 16 autonomous communities; 64% were women, 80% were consultants, and 20% were residents. More than half of the participants performed routine healthcare activity and only 7% research activity. Almost three quarters (73%) were subspecialized in a main area of interest and almost half of these chose this area because it was the only option available after residency. Half of the respondents (51%) considered working abroad and 81% believed the professional standing in Spain was worse than in other countries. After finishing their residency, only 22 were offered a job at their training hospital. Just 16% of participants had a permanent employment contract and 87% were concerned (score of ≥ 5 on a scale of 1–10) about their job stability. In addition, one quarter of the participants in our study showed an interest in increasing their research activity.ConclusionsThe choice of subspecialty in medical oncology may depend on job opportunities after residency rather than personal interest. The abundance of temporary contracts may have influenced the job stability concerns observed. Future mentoring strategies should engage in building a long-term career path for young medical oncologists.

Job change in the conditions of precarious work (on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan permanent residents)

Job and profession change are basic forms of social and labour mobility. Unstable working conditions are typical for less developed in socio-economic terms regions. The purpose of the study is to identify the degree of influence of precarious employment and other socio-demographic and economic factors on the probability of job change among Bashkortostan residents. The empirical basis of the study is a sociological survey of the Republic of Bashkortostan population. According to the results obtained, such factors as working in a private enterprise, self-employment, short work experience and the presence of a temporary employment contract increase the likelihood of job change. Income satisfaction, official wage and the absence of credit debt reduce the probability of job change. Respondents who want to improve their level of education and qualifications, as well as those who do not work within their specialty, tend to change their place of work more often. The conducted research has shown that changing a job, as a rule, does not contribute to improving the financial situation and working conditions of respondents.

Non-standard employment and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a qualitative study

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic entailed a deep economic crisis that affected working populations globally. However, non-standard workers (NSW, understood as workers with temporary contracts, not working full-time, self-employed or not paying taxes/making active pension contributions) were more severely hit than workers with more stable and protected jobs. The aim of this study thus was to explore the experiences of NSW during the pandemic and how these affected their mental health in Spain, one of the countries in Europe with the highest shares of temporary and self-employment and the one that applied the most restrictive containment measures during the first waves of the pandemic. Methods As part of a larger multi-country study, 41 semi-structured interviews with NSW aged 25-55 were conducted between March-July 2021 and analyzed thematically. Results Analyses revealed that job loss or insecurity and subsequent reductions in income were central to the experience of NSW during the pandemic in Spain, which affected their mental health negatively. Both the existing social protection framework and the policies deployed during the pandemic to outweigh these consequences were perceived by NSW as insufficient or could not access them due to their condition of NSW. This was particularly the case for self-employed and temporary agency workers. Moreover, NSW expressed that containment measures and reductions in income prevented them from engaging in activities to cope with such adversities, aggravating their mental health. Conclusions These findings suggest that, in Spain, the pandemic intensified but also made more visible the defenselessness of NSW (especially self-employed and temporary agency workers) in terms of social protection in the event of sudden unemployment or reductions in income. This situation had harmful consequences for their mental health. Yet, new policies and measures fall short in fitting the necessities of an increasing share of the workforce. Key messages • In Spain, non-standard workers are more vulnerable to and defenseless against sudden unemployment or reductions in income. • The pandemic intensified this problem and put them at higher risk of suffering from poor mental health.

Seasonal and mission contracts in Southern French fruit farms: the tainted rights of foreign workers

This article questions the compatibility of the principles proclaimed by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, namely the free movement of workers, the freedom to provide services and the fight against discrimination. The study focuses on the arboriculture sector established in the Crau region over the past fifty years through two biographical accounts collected in 2008 and 2014, which allow us to understand the adjustments made by local actors, who are grappling with the changes in the sector, particularly through the systematic use of foreign workers as a means of adjusting production costs. The article mobilises familiarism under various aspects — structural, functional and organizational — to analyse the socio-economic behaviors of small and large arboriculturists, integrated on a regional, national and European scale on competitive markets of agricultural products and jobs. In a double qualitative and quantitative approach, it is shown the update of the modalities of employment of foreigners in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and in the tree farms of the Crau, characterised by the co-presence of foreign workers under season contracts introduced by the French Office of Immigration and Integration, and workers under mission contracts made available in France by temporary work companies registered in Europe. Finally, the article considers the exceptionality of these temporary contracts, by analysing the litigation procedures within a certified and labelled fruit industry, marked by unequal treatment and systemic discrimination against these indispensable workers.

Planning feasible and efficient operational scenarios for a university hospital through multimethodology

The COVID-19 pandemic required managerial and structural changes inside hospitals to address new admission demands, frequently reducing their care capacity for other diseases. In this regard, this study aims to support the recovery of hospital productivity in the post-pandemic context. The major challenge will be to make use of all the resources the institution has obtained (equipment, beds, temporarily hired human resources) and to increase production to meet the existing repressed demand. To support evidence-based decision-making at a major university hospital in Rio de Janeiro, hospital managers and operations research analysts designed an approach based on multiple methodologies. Besides multimethodology, one important novelty of this study is the application of a productivity frontier function to future scenario planning through the quantitative DEA methodology. Concept maps were used to structure the problem and emphasize stakeholders’ perspectives. In sequence, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied, as it combines benchmarking best practices and assigns weights to inputs and outputs. To guarantee that the efficiency measurement considers all inputs and outputs before any inclusion of expert judgment, the scope was redirected to full dimensional efficient facet, if any, or to maximum efficient faces. The results indicate that production scenarios proposed by stakeholders based on the Ministry of Health parameters overestimate the viable production framework and that the scenario that maintains temporary human resource contracts is more compatible with quality in health provision, teaching, and research. These findings will serve as a basis for decision-making by the governmental agency that provided temporary contracts. The present methodology can be applied in different settings and scales.

Subjective Job Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

This article studies subjective job insecurity in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused structural, economic and policy changes. It employs data drawn from the “Extraordinary Survey on Italian Families in 2020” released by the Bank of Italy in 2021. The work estimates a zero one inflated beta model (ZOIB). The main results show that (1) worsening household economic conditions is associated with an increase in householder workers subjective job insecurity; (2) receiving a wage guarantee fund in 2019 is associated with an increase in subjective job insecurity; and (3) increasing the number of people working from home within the household is associated with an increase in subjective job insecurity. Moreover, having a temporary contract and working in the private sector is associated with an increase in subjective job insecurity.