Temporary Jobs: Bah, humbug?

Neat that the paper is based on a random assignemnt experiment. You just can't beat a randomized experiment for identifying unbiased effects.

nice paper. i miss grad school.

MBA Candidate - May 2008
Part Time Program

As opposed to the study candidates, I graduated from college jobless, childless, debt light, and a free place to live. However, I can comment on temping for 5 years before landing a permanent position.

Temping provides erratic earnings at best. The emotional rollercoaster of finding the next assignment can take a toll. Once inside a position, shifting delusions between being hired and fired persist. Job separations are quick and painful. You have almost no time to reconcile relationships made on the job. After 4 or 5 temp assignments, a healthy dose of cynism about the future set in. All of these factors will easily shake 1/2 to 3/4 (My guesstimate) of all welfare recipients. Unlike myself, they do pay rent, have children, are potentially indebted, and did not take a finance class in college.

The benefit of temping is that it provides a wide array of training and experience. The exposure to different environments is quite stimulating. Over time you learn the differnet cultural norms of companies. Best of all, the skills you do acquire are transferrable to almost any job. Another perk is that temping provides (mostly) flexible hours. The only skill I really missed by temping was continuous mentoring.

All in all, temping is probably not the best route to full time employment. However, it does provide an income as opposed to waiting for unemployment benefits to expire. Temping is definitely not for everyone. The point is that it will work for some. Isn't the ultimate goal, to wean people off of welfare anyway ??

People need better safeguards before beginning to temp. Perhaps legislation requiring temp agencies to provide mentors at call centers 24/7 would be a possible bandaid solution. Making unemployment benefits more available to temps would also be a step in the right direction. I think that standardized benefits packages for temps is a worthwhile idea. I credit the larger agencies in providing more benefits recently.

**Finally, if you can't read, or don't have access to the internet, you'll never see my posting.

I temp now, for a major telecom provider. I do so on the heels of having worked for an even larger provider for eight years. There is no comparison between the two from a quality of life perspective: temps are the galley whipping boys (or girls) of the workforce. It doesn't matter whether you're blue collar or executive. Even though I COULD buy a house, I won't; even though I COULD start a long-term relationship in my new 'hometown', I won't - job security and upward mobility are THE lynchpins of the American Dream, something that appears not to be in the cards for most of my generation (X). By the time I eke out a piece of it, I'll be ready for the old-folks home! And then, the insurance company or the Government will just take it all back to pay for my overpriced, force-fed puree.

I think it is also important to mention the hardships faced by those who move from welfare to work. Hardships such as transportation, day care, etc. place a toll on the individual and will play a roll in whether or not an individual will be able to not only suceed in the temporary job, but be able to sustain a full time postion in the future.