A headline that reads: Number of Temp Workers Jumped by 50% in the last 20 years, StatsCan Says, immediately grabs our attention and signals some sort of panic. Especially once we read it and realize that the sectors affected by this are primarily education, health care and social assistance; and that women are hired as temporary workers at higher rates than men (temporary workers can be regarded as employees that are hired as seasonal, casual or by contract; therefore, you are hired for specific amounts of time). This panic is partly due to the connotations around temporary work, it is often seen as quite a negative employment situation. The article discusses how temporary workers tend to have a lack of proper benefits such as insurance and sick leave. They also receive lower wages on average than permanent workers, although this trend seems to have diminished with the years. Finally, there is an immense instability for temporary workers, which can be a source of stress, especially for young families or single parents. Temporary work is not something that benefits most of the working class. It is a form of employment that seems to benefit the employer rather than the employee; however, this is not entirely true. As the article points out, temporary work can be very beneficial for certain people in the population such as youths who are pursuing postgraduate studies, which is an aspect I would like to focus on.
Temporary work can be a useful way to add experience to your resume and develop your skills. Temporary work can help demonstrate to your employers that you are essential to their company through hard work which can possibly result in future full-time employment. As a full-time student, I currently find temporary work very beneficial as I require more flexibility and do not necessarily need all the benefits of a full-time permanent employment. I currently hold a “casual” position as a receptionist at the local hospital in my home town, which means I am constantly on call to replace part-time and full-time workers. This type of employment allows me to focus on my school work during the year and work a couple shifts every once in a while, and to pick up more shifts during the summer. I am lucky enough that this specific position is unionized and that a total of 20% is added to every pay to make up for benefits and vacation that a permanent worker receives. There is also opportunity for growth at this particular job, for example, I started out on a seasonal contract at the hospital, then become casual and there is an opportunity for me to apply to a part-time or full-time position if I wish to do so. This, however, can be a long and gruelling process for someone who needs the steady employment with good benefits right away. Evidently, not all workplaces are the same and not all temporary work will offer the same treatment, my current employment does not represent the reality of all temporary work. Some temporary work may be more beneficial than others.
Brief, the rising levels of temporary workers is something that is very alarming because youths are not necessarily making up the majority of the workforce. Further, as the younger population matures they will eventually seek a permanent steady employment. As mentioned before, temporary work can be very stressful as it is unstable and requires employees to prove themselves to gain a permanent position or to have a good reputation for future employment; it is not ideal for most of the population. Although some temporary work is required in order to be able to replace sick leaves, maternity leaves, students and other workers who require flexible work, the levels of temporary work need to be reduced.
I personally see both beneficial and non-beneficial aspects to temporary work as highlighted in the paragraphs above. I am curious to find out how my peers view this topic, so I ask: What are your views surrounding temporary employment?
Source:
Number of temp workers jumped by 50% in the last 20 years, StatsCan says | CBC News. (2019,
May 15). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/temporary-workers-employment-1.5135310
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Gabrielle 
Good morning Gabrielle,
Thank you for sharing your findings and personal experience on temporary work.
Personally, my views surrounding temporary work are divided.
I, myself, like you a student, also benefit from temporary work. I have been a casual employee since my first year, which allows me the flexibility to pick up shifts around my class schedule and to work less during midterm and exam weeks, as well as, to not work at all when I want to go home for holidays. I don’t need the benefits as much as a non-student temporary worker because as a student I can use my parents’ health insurance still. In the summers, I work as a co-op student for the government, which is great because during the school year I can’t be in Ottawa where most of the federal government is. The government also gives me full-time hours in the summer and is equally flexible when it comes to time off. Though, unlike your temporary position, neither job is represented under the union and benefits are not made up for in cash.
Temporary work is great, like you said, for youth – primarily students.
However, as you touched on, a shift to temporary work would not be great for all adults. People trying to start or raise families could struggle without benefits (health, sick and vacation days) or with an unstable income.
I think another group temporary work could benefit is retirees.
I worked at Loblaws for a long-time with a lot of retirees who weren’t ready to give up the workforce altogether. One of my favourite co-workers planted trees in the summer. Though she complained it was starting to get hard on the body as she aged, she loved gardening and loved the temporary nature of tree planting.
However, if you’re thirty and raising a family, you cannot just disappear to plant trees for two-four months. So it would be unideal in this situation.
Thank you for your thought-provoking blog post.
Kaitlyn.
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Thank you for responding! I completely agree, especially your point about retires. Temporary work can be good for certain people in the population just maybe not long term.
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Hi Gabrielle,
Thank you for sharing your views on this topic! I loved reading your post as it kept me very engaged and allowed me to learn about new opinions on this topic.
I share your opinion on temporary employment since as a student this type of work often benefits us, but I do also see the downfalls that can come along with positions that are not permanent.
As a student, a temporary placement is the best of both worlds as it allows students to focus on school but also make money when they have the time to pick up shifts. Since many students do not need coverage, they do not suffer from not having benefits such as health care.
Temporary work for adults who are attempting to raise families is much less beneficial since not having steady hours means not having a steady income which makes starting a family or raising a family very difficult. The other downfall of temporary work as mentioned in your post is the lack of benefits, especially for those with families.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I hope you have a good reading week!
Alexandra
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Thank you for responding! Yes definitely is not beneficial for anyone raising a family, or with house payments or any other responsibilities etc., but for us students it is very beneficial to accommodate for our busy schedules.
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Hi Gabrielle!
I agree with your opinion on the aspects of temporary work being beneficial for specific individuals but also non-beneficial for most. In my opinion, temporary work contributes to the imbalance of power between the employee and employer. As temporary work frees the employers from many administrative duties and provides flexibility that fits the employer’s agenda. Thus, temporary workers are left with unpredictable hours and lack of feeling secure within their job.
Within your post you mentioned your work within the local hospital near you being a unionized position, how do you think temporary workers within a non-unionized work environment may be affected by job security and lack of benefits?
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Hi, thank you for responding! I do see your point and it is true that it contributes to a sort of imbalance between employers and employees which could lead to bad working conditions, scheduling, etc., as you mentioned. I am very lucky to have a workplace that cares for its temporary workers but I do realize not every place is like this. My workplace, as mentioned previously, adjusts every pay with a 20% increase for the lack of benefits. It also works on a fair system of seniority and availability, and there are strong possibilities to get a full-time position once you’re an employee as well. To answer your question, I think a non-unionized workplace would not necessarily have all these great aspects that make temporary work not seem so bad. The working conditions of some temporary workers are not ideal and can be very difficult for many people.
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Hi Gabrielle,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the topic of temporary employment. I found that your post was much more effective due to your use of personal experiences. I think that temporary employment is a hard topic to have a definite stance on due to the many different effects it has on a wide array of individuals, but I liked your view point.
As you said, for students, temporary employment has many positive aspects. Being able to go to school while also advancing skills and experience in a workplace setting is a benefit that was not as available years ago. However, it has also been found that receiving an education will not shield you from future temporary unemployment. Individuals with temporary unemployment are actually more likely to have a post graduate degree, meaning attending university does not place you way above those that did not.
Ultimately, I think that the effect of temporary employment is very dependent on the specific situation. You can do everything right by getting an education, retaining an abundance of experience and work hard, but it might not always lead you towards a full-time job.
Thank you again for your post!
Hannah May
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Thank you for taking the time to respond. Yes I do agree it is a hard topic to have a definite stance on. I do see both sides and although I do see benefits from temporary work now I probably will feel different in the future when I need that stability a permanent post offers.
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Hi Gabrielle,
Firstly, very insightful article. Similar to me, I have experienced difficulties in temporary employment, and I cannot imagine the struggle that a working mother or father would have to go through as a temporary employee. There needs to be a change in benefits, that understand the implications as to why some of these people are interested in specifically temporary employment.
Secondly, I am on the fence in regards to your opinion on how creation of unions in certain areas of temporary employment can aid in benefits. Being a temporary employee means switching from different work environments often, and that may be difficult to create a legal union with that kind of scope currently.
Overall, your article provides in-depth and analytical insights into the struggle temporary workers face, and in that I am in agreement. The government needs to understand this, and enforce stronger work benefits such as dentistry, doctor & mental health benefits; something more than simply the Fair Wage Act, as often times Fair Pay is just one aspect of the struggle of the temporary employee.
Great article!
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Hi Gabrielle,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post! You provided a wonderful summary of the article, which really helped me to gain a general understanding of the main issues surrounding the rise of temporary workers both in Canada, and the globe. The example you provided of your own experience as a temporary worker provided an interesting perspective, exploring various benefits that some members of the population might gain from temporary work. In my personal experience, I am not as optimistic about the benefits of temporary work. As someone who has experienced job instability and is graduating in a few weeks, the lack of permanent employment options in the workforce is daunting. While I personally would prefer to have more permanent, full-time opportunities, I understand that temporary work may be beneficial for some of my peers. Going forward, I wonder if the government is taking any steps to support industries in creating more full-time employment for young people entering the workforce?
Once again, great work!
Jaclyn
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I like the pespectives you shared on the kind of people that temporary work can benefit. As with almost all things (types of work, personalities, etc) there are pros and cons. Having both is inevitable, yet in many cases people tend to focus solely on the negative aspects.
This tendency, to me, exemplifies a fear mindset and shows how people tend to use fear and negatively to influence people’s opinions on certain things, in this case temporary work.
It’s a very common approach and its analysis like these that help to continue the conversation and demonstrate the necessity for different kinds of work in today’s modern world.
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