Contingent workers are persons who do not have job security at their current places of employment. Their job is transitory, and they may be laid off before or after the expiration of their contract (Belous, 1989). The shifting global economic conditions have mostly influenced their purpose and existence in organizations. Contingent workers are regarded differently than non-contingent workers, for example, in terms of the benefits they are entitled to. Furthermore, they are rarely motivated and are not acknowledged in comparison to their peers who are working on a permanent basis. To have equity within an organization, it would be important to have frequent consultations with all workers representatives as these associations represent the needs and aspirations of employees. Some of the issues that should be negotiated frequently include working conditions, earnings, and job security. For instance, earnings should be determined on the basis of education and workload regardless of the type of employment. Additionally, both part time and full time workers should be provided with good working conditions and receive equal motivation opportunities (Hipple, 1996).
The continued employment of contingent workers has positively led to the improvement of organizations through increased productivity and efficiency. It has led to reduction of the cost of labor as contingent workers are not provided with benefits such as retirement or health. Moreover, wages reduce because they are not paid the same rates as permanent workers. However, the employment of contingent workers negatively affects HRM responsibilities. This is because these employees increase the number that HRM should manage. HRM department find itself with more responsibilities to handle. Thus, despite the initial reduction in costs, due to the increase in HRM responsibilities the costs may surge up. Moreover, miscellaneous costs such as water bills and electricity may increase because of the presence of many employees.
On the other hand, the culture of an organization also is affected negatively. When contingent workers are placed under poor working conditions they may demand for better failure to which they damage the reputation of the organization. In addition, full time workers may demand to have certain aspects of the company changed to favor them more than their counterparts. All these issues can lead to changing of the organization culture (Van Horn & Schaffner, 2003).
Contingent workers should be compensated equally the same as full time, regular workers who do the same work. The payment should be based on the output and education qualification. At times, a regular full time worker may have low qualifications and performance than a contingent worker and earn more than the latter which is unfair. Organizations should base their payments on the expected output and individual’s level of education regardless they are working on permanent or contract basis. If such an approach is adopted, the contingent workers will be more motivated to perform better than their counterparts employed on permanent basis. While this may affect the full time workers morale, if an organization adopts this approach to be its guiding factor no problems can be experienced in the future.
If I am appointed a CEO of an organization, I would create a working environment which is equal for all workers. For instance, I would use performance appraisals for both contingent and non-contingent workers to assess their performance. I would make compensation be based on output and academic qualification for all employees. I would ensure that motivation strategies are implemented for all workers in the company.
Organizations should aim to treat all their employees equally regardless of their type of employment. This can help improve on productivity of the organization which increases revenues. Equal treatment means more motivated employees.
References
Belous, R. S. (1989). How human resource systems adjust to the shift toward contingent workers. Monthly Labor Review, 112(3), 7-12.
Van Horn, C., & Schaffner, H. (2003). Work in America. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.
Hipple, S., & Stewart, J. (1996). Earnings and benefits of contingent and non-contingent workers. Monthly Lab. Rev., 119, 22.
