When it comes to earning a living, most people in the U.S are either employed temporarily or on a permanent basis. Some issues contribute to people’s desire to have at least somewhere from which they can win a bread for their families. In the play “Fences,” composed by August Wilson, readers are guided through the lives of some African Americans who confront problems such as insufficient job opportunities, racism, lack of finances for the support of family and other stressful situations. Wilson points directly to the white-dominated society as the main problem facing African Americans in as far as employment and financial situations are concerned (194). Economic insecurity among the blacks during the time was indicative of a society free from slavery, but its darkness keeps dominating. The text helps build on the concept of temporary workers in present America. This issue is prevalent among blacks and other immigrants in the wake of increases in the number of temporary workers because as a result of the benefits associated with the workforce, alongside effects contributing to the phenomenon even though some issues such as racism continue to emerge.
Hiring workers temporarily is considered the best solution when a corporation in intending to cut on the cost of performing various tasks. When employees are hired for a limited time, the company in which they serve, despite providing them with benefits such as overtime pay and compensation, significantly reduce the overall cost of running the business (Dräger & Marx 943). Traditionally, full-time workers are accrued with other gains which their casual worker counterparts do not enjoy including sick pay and retirement benefits. As a way of increasing the amount of profit generated by the business, the hiring bodies are now receiving instructions from the management requiring them to contract more casual workers than permanent ones. The main goal of firms today is to have the same level job done at a minimum wage which is the reason this trend is widely practiced in the U.S. While it is beneficial, contracting employees for a limited time comes with challenges. Customers easily note changes in the quality of services and goods they receive. As a result, many of them would prefer a company that is undergoing a gradual change in the composition of the workforce than one which keeps changing every single day (Hyman). Moreover, a permanent worker will not take the blame for deteriorating quality of products and services. Consumers lose trust in the company and head for one which is stable.
The other benefit of adding temporary worker in the companies in the U.S is that it ensures there is no gap during festivities and, therefore the organization continues operating (Del Rowe 33). It is not uncommon for permanent workers to be given an off-duty period. Many, if not all, firms offer opportunities to individuals in the nation to fill the gaps when a worker is on a maternity leave, is being hospitalized or undertaking an important training. Operations need to continue even when some staff members are on vacation. The easiest way of ensuring processes is not halted is by spreading the awareness to members about the opportunity and asking them to apply if they possess the minimum requirements (Dräger & Marx 948). When they apply, human resource professionals sit down and carefully select the individuals who meet the minimum skills required to perform a duty. The challenge is that different people have unique ways of arranging their activities. A new worker comes with his/her way of completing tasks. Before they adapt, they take time and this could interfere with the company’s goal high productivity and in turn resulting in low profit. On the other hand, the full-time workers may feel their positions in the firm is at stake. In most cases, the temporary workers are instructed by the permanent workers to do what is enough and nothing extra since they think the new employees may take their positions rendering them jobless. The two sides become enemies by the virtue that one of them feel threatened and the other one unwanted.
Contingent workers bring with them talents at the much affordable price compared to some permanent employees whose skills and abilities are expensive. In comparison with the amount of money which would be paid to a permanent staff for some talents, companies in the U.S prefer hiring people on contract to contribute to the firm success (Greenhouse). Temps share skills with their workmates hence the benefits become long-lasting. The survey shows that out of five employees in the U.S, four of them are casual workers. A substantial portion of the population of workers in the U.S work on contract basis with the aim of meeting the basic needs and those of their families. Completion among individuals seeking to get limited opportunities in firms to ensure companies attract some of the best talents available in the society. This explains why companies are becoming successful few weeks after entering the U.S market. The weakness of depending on casual workers as a source of talents for business growth is that some individuals only share a few of their skills. Once they leave the organization and head for another one in the industry, they may contribute significantly to the development of their new place of work making them more successful than the previous firms where they worked (Greenhouse). A permanent worker is more loyal to the firm they are employed in than casual workers. Hence this turns out to be risky for the organization which has considered hiring contingent workers the way to go.
Other than the benefits contingent workforce has on companies, there are factors which are contributing to the dramatic change in the staff composition in the U.S (Parfitt). The first one affecting the process of hiring is globalization. Presently, the number of people moving in from other nations come and work in the U.S is on the increase. The world is shrinking in as far as outsourcing and growth of businesses are concerned. Also, the need to be agile and flexible is pushing firms to the limits and makes them seek sources of workers which will significantly reduce the amount of money they spend on salaries and remuneration. Temporary workers bridge the existing gap between financial challenges and completion of projects. In some cases, companies fail to achieve the intended goal as quickly as possible with the few permanently employed individuals, but with temps, the objective is reached without delay. Some projects presented to firms are normally on strict deadlines and by factoring in temps in the whole process ensures they hit the deadline and win the trustworthy of their clients. Competitiveness is determined by how effectively job was done, product delivery time and the ability to offer goods and services at minimal cost possible (Greenhouse). For this to be realized firms do not restrict themselves to individuals within a locality or nation. They search far and wide for pools of skilled personnel across the globe. An example is when a worker moves all the way from China and travel to the U.S to work as a temporary worker. This is especially so when a nation from which one is migrating from is experiencing extreme unemployment.
Another important factor which is contributing to an explosion in the number of temporary workers in the U.S industries is the impact of the economy. The U.S economy is characterized by an ever increasing cost of living. As a result, the amount of salary paid to permanent employees also increase. For firms to avoid being trapped in a situation of increased expenditure on salary payment, they have devised a way of aligning itself to a quick but effective process of hiring temporary workers (Evans). Moreover, the economy is pushing individuals to find a place to earn a living. They therefore resorted to seeking job opportunities even if they are not well paying. The quest for survival even if at a minimum wage is turning out to be beneficial to companies in their goal of becoming profitable.
While the trend may be stirring things and benefiting firms, some issues continue to emerge as to whether employing individuals is justifiable. One concern of the practice is racism where individuals from specific races are preferred more than others (Evans). For example, in the advertisement industry, there are more white individuals than their nonwhite counterparts. This tends to reinforce what seemed to be rampant in the time August Wilson was composing “Fences” in the 1950’s. The shadow of racism seems to be crawling in the U.S years after segregation was considered an illegal practice. In addition, many people are leaving their homelands particularly Africa and Mexico with the hope that they will land themselves an opportunity to improve their financial situation. But then, they are considered a threat to the few available jobs. Another concern is that automation is taking over and employment of temps will be rendered inapplicable in the near future. For instance, in the past, bricks were laid by a group of individuals, but presently, innovation has led to the discovery of prototypes which are more accurate and quicker than humans (Hyman). On the other hand, some jobs which required additional workers, some machines have taken over. A good example is the use of drones to deliver products to buyers. Automation spells more problems to temps today than a few decades ago.
In summary, the increase in temporary workers in the U.S point directly to the number of benefits companies draw from them as well as some factors, despite the challenges facing the practice. As was earlier mentioned, temps play a major role in downsizing the cost of operation of the firms resulting from the high salary paid to permanent workers. Additionally, firms continue operating even when some staff members are away on a leave. The continuity of firms is guaranteed despite variations in the quality of goods and services offered by the new workforce. Individuals seeking to secure themselves a position in firms temporarily face challenges such as racism, rejection by the full-time workers and automation. For a better future for citizens and legal immigrants in the U.S., there is a need to ensure equal access to jobs for all.
Works Cited
Del Rowe, Sam. “How to Get Lasting Benefits from: Temporary Employees.” CRM Magazine, vol. 22, no. 5, June 2018, pp. 32–36.
Dräger, Vanessa, and Paul Marx. “Do Firms Demand Temporary Workers When They Face Workload Fluctuation? Cross-Country Firm-Level Evidence.” ILR Review, vol. 70, no. 4, Aug. 2017, pp. 942–975.
Evans, Will. "When Companies Hire Temp Workers By Race, Black Applicants Lose Out". Reveal, 2016, https://www.revealnews.org/article/when-companies-hire-temp-workers-by-race-black-applicants-lose-out/. Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Greenhouse, Steven. "The Changing Face of Temporary Employment". Nytimes.Com, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/upshot/the-changing-face-of-temporary-employment.html. Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Hyman, Louis. "Opinion | It’s Not Technology That’s Disrupting Our Jobs". Nytimes.Com, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opinion/technology/technology-gig-economy.html. Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Parfitt, Steven. "Fed Up With Zero-Hours Contracts And Temporary Work? Here’s what to Do | Steven Parfitt". The Guardian, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/28/zero-hours-contracts-temporary-work-fight-organised-union . Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Wilson, August. "Fences. 1983." Wilson, Three Plays (1986): 95-196.
