On the transferability of “traditional” satisfaction theory to non‐traditional employment relationships: temp agency work satisfaction
| Published date | 21 August 2007 |
| Date | 21 August 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450710776272 |
| Pages | 440-457 |
| Author | Nicole Torka,Birgit Schyns |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
On the transferability of
“traditional” satisfaction theory
to non-traditional employment
relationships: temp agency work
satisfaction
Nicole Torka
University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, and
Birgit Schyns
University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
Abstract
Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to identify sources of temp agency work satisfaction
and discuss whether or not these sources differ from those well-known to traditional satisfaction
research (i.e. those appropriate for employees with a permanent contract).
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a qualitative study (semi-structured interviews and
fieldwork) among low and medium skilled metalworkers (welders and fitters) in two Dutch companies.
The authors were able to identify sources for temp agency work satisfaction: organizational
conditions, central personality constructs, labour market experiences, and layoff experiences.
Findings – The findings in the paper conclude that satisfaction theory is transferable to temp agency
workers, but that future satisfaction research should include less studied factors such as labour market
and layoff experiences, as well.
Research limitations/implications – The paper is a qualitative case study research within two
Dutch companies and involved a certain occupational group: metalworkers. Consequently, the external
transferability of the results (i.e. country, occupational group, industries) may be limited. Furthermore,
the research approach used does not allow for the making of casual assumptions. For example, it was
not possible to address the question as to whether “perceived alternatives” influences “sensation
seeking” or vice versa. Longitudinal questionnaire research could help to clarify such issues. Job
satisfaction theory in general is helpful in creating a framework for agency work satisfaction when it
comes to Human Resource Management policies and practices. However, in order to explain agency
workers’ satisfaction, there is a need to broaden the traditional psychologically-orientated theories and
include aspects related to history and (occupational) sociology such as work experience in sectors
where non-permanent employment relationships are common.
Practical implications – The paper shows that hiring-in companies can contribute to agency
workers’ satisfaction and, it is believed, other non-permanent workers such as freelancers and collegial
loan-in, by means of equal treatment policies and practices with respect to job characteristics,
development and mobility policies, working conditions, direct employee influence, and (fringe-)
benefits.
Originality/value – In this paper the focus has been on a relatively seldom-discussed phenomenon
in employee attitude research: temp agency work satisfaction. The authors focus on sources that can
explain the preference for a me
´nage a
`trois employment relationship over life-time employment
arrangements with one employer, i.e. a traditional permanent labour contract between two parties.
Keywords The Netherlands,Human resource management, Job satisfaction
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
ER
29,5
440
Received June 2006
Revised January 2007
Accepted January 2007
Employee Relations
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2007
pp. 440-457
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450710776272
1. Introduction
Since the 1980s, many employers seem to have changed their relationship with their
employees. Forced by enhanced (international) competition with respect to costs,
quality, flexibility, and innovation, companies have had to revise the management of
all resources for purposes of maintaining competitive advantage. To guarantee cost
effectiveness, one management intervention is to shift the legal status of (non-core)
employees from permanent to non-permanent, as is the case in project-based
relationships (i.e. freelance) and in the outsourcing of work (and employees) to other
companies such as temp agencies (e.g. Atkinson, 1984; Forde and Slater, 2006). This
change in the management of human resources means that employees are expected to
become more manoeuvrable between employers, inevitability resulting in the
employee’s improved external employability.
Statistical evidence on a larger scale seems to support that there have been changes
in human resource flow policies and, more specifically, in management decisions
concerning the contract relationship (see also Biggs et al., 2006). Zijl and van Leeuwen
(2004) conclude that, in most countries, temporary work acts as a kind of stepping
stone towards permanent employment. However, is it also possible that temporary
workers, and in particular, agency workers, do not always want to make use of this
stepping-stone? Maybe the situation is, in fact, contrary to the assumption put forward
by Boltanski and Chiapello (1999), in which they argue that the so-called “new deal” is
simply a lopsided one in which employees have to adapt to organisation demands.
Some employees seem to prefer or are satisfied with their status as agency worker (see
also below). Since temp agencies can offer permanent contracts, thereby providing
contract security, we are pointedly referring to the possibility that an employee may
choose job insecurity – that is, an uncertainty about the length of stay at a particular
function, job and/or work location.
Rose (2003) states that most attention in satisfaction research is on the so-called
quality of work, whereby extrinsic aspects of the job, such as promotion, pay and job
security, receive less attention. However, many scholars believe that decreased job
security is not favourable for employee commitment (e.g. Pfeffer, 1994; Baruch, 1998 ),
which is considered to be a consequence of job satisfaction (e.g. Lincoln and Kalleberg,
1990). In this article, we deal with an issue that may possibly have received even less
attention than extrinsic sources of job satisfaction, namely, satisfaction with a temp
agency work status, which we have defined here as:
A pleasurable or positive emotional state towards temp agency work resulting from the
appraisal of one’s experiences as temp agency worker (derived from Locke (1976, p. 1300)
definition of job satisfaction).
An explorative approach seems appropriate for this topic, considering the fact pointed
out by Rose (2003) that a lack of knowledge concerning job security issues in
satisfaction research exists, and considering Gallagher and McLean Parks (2001) in
their questions concerning the transferability of attitude research and theories ba sed
on traditional “life time employment” to workers who are working under alternative
employment arrangements. We conducted a qualitative study, using semi-structured
interviews, with metalworkers in two Dutch companies, for the study of the following
research question:
Temp agency
work satisfaction
441
To continue reading
Request your trial