Temporary and permanent agency workers. A study of perceived organizational support and dual commitment
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2021-0243 |
| Published date | 04 March 2022 |
| Date | 04 March 2022 |
| Pages | 1157-1178 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Mariavittoria Cicellin,Andrea Tomo,Stefano Consiglio,Luigi Moschera,Massimo Aria |
Temporary and permanent agency
workers. A study of perceived
organizational support and
dual commitment
Mariavittoria Cicellin
Department of Social Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Andrea Tomo
Department of Economics Management Institutions, University of Naples Federico II,
Naples, Italy
Stefano Consiglio
Department of Social Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Luigi Moschera
Department of Economics and Legal Studies, University of Naples Parthenope,
Naples, Italy, and
Massimo Aria
Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to analyze the effects of the type of agency contract on the relationship between
agency workers’organizational commitment and perceived organizational support.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors extend a prev iously developed model considering
organizational support and affective commitment by including also continuance commitment in the Italian
employment agency industry. The authors use a probabilistic stratified sampling method on a sample of 8,283
agency workers. Data were analyzed with structural equation modelling (SEM) and multiple group analyses.
Findings –The findings confirm the positive relationship between perceived organizational support from
both the agency and the client organization and agency workers’affective commitment to them. The authors
also find that agency workers develop a mutually related dual commitment in response to the support they
receive from both organizations.
Originality/value –The paper contributes to the literature on agency workers and suggests useful
managerial and policy makers interventions for both temporary work agencies and client organizations for the
development of the agency industry as well as the well-being of workers.
Keywords Agency workers, Dual commitment, Perceived organizational support, Multiple group analysis,
Probabilistic stratified sampling method
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Over the past few years, agency work has become a widely used form of “non-standard”work
arrangement (Giunchi et al., 2015;Woldman et al., 2018;Sobral et al., 2020). The management
of agency workers creates significant challenges for the regulatory framework of labour
markets, temporary work agencies (TWAs) and client organizations employing agency
workers. Managerial and socio-economic literature agrees that, although agency work is a
complex, growing and heterogeneous sector all over the world, the evidence base for policy
makers in the management of agency workers is still limited and fragmented and would
benefit from stronger comparative research (Berman and Larson, 1993;Forde and Slater,
2016;Guest et al., 2010;Koene et al., 2016).
Temporary
and permanent
agency
workers
1157
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https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 10 June 2021
Revised 3 December 2021
20 January 2022
Accepted 18 February 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 5, 2022
pp. 1157-1178
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-06-2021-0243
In 2018, there were approximately 57 million temporary agency workers worldwide, a
growth of 8% over 2017 (WEC, 2020). In Europe, there are about ten million agency workers.
This is a consequence of the economic crisis that led to high levels of unemployment in
several countries, including Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy, and reduced the opportunities
to obtain “standard”work (Chambel and Sobral, 2019).
TWAs fit into this “rift”. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge of the dynamics
characterizing the supply and demand intersection, agencies can make the difference even
in situations, such as the current one, where it is necessary to support workers in complex
paths of professional transition and outplacement (National Institute for Public Policies,
2021). An alternative explanation of this growth might be related to the growing or mature
economy in some Countries (see, e.g. North-European Countries and Germany).
In 2018, Italy had approximately 800,000 agency workers, Portugal had 879,000 and Spain
757,000 (WEC, 2020). The Italian temporary employment industry has evolved and changed
in recent years. Italy is nowadays one of the largest European markets for agency work, with
revenue of V11bn in 2018, up 4% from 2017 (WEC, 2020). Like other countries, Italian
agencies can employ workers on a temporary basis and on a permanent basis. Agency
contracts could not exceed 24 months, with the only exception being an additional 12 months
(36 months in total), if there was a legal reason, and the worker agreed.
Agency workers face a unique employment situation, in which they build a double relationship
with two organizations, the agency, their nominal employer and the client organization, in a
“multiple agency relationship”(Lapalmeet al.,2011;McLeanParks et al., 1998;Chambel and Sobral,
2019). Coyle-Shapiro et al. (2006,p.562)assumedthat“workingfor two organizations simultaneously
makes understanding contracted employees more complex than the study of standard employees”.
An important issue is the agency workers’perceived organizational support of how the
two organizations treat them. This is a key driver for improving both individual and
organizational performance (e.g. Buch et al., 2010;Chambel and Sobral, 2019;Imhof and
Andresen, 2017;Lapalme et al., 2011).
We aim to analyze the effects of the type of agency contract on the relationship between
agency workers’affective commitment, continuance commitment and perceived
organizational support. We draw on the previous model developed by Giunchi et al. (2015)
on the relationship between perceived organizational support and affective commitment by
employing and sharing their hypotheses and assumptions, but also extend their model by
including continuance commitment. Moreover, differently from previous studies, we test the
hypothesis on a very larger sample of 8,283 Italian agency workers, and we use a probabilistic
stratified sampling method (PSSM), taking into account the geographical distribution of
workers and the relative proportions between temporary and permanent agency contracts.
The paper has many theoretical, managerial and policy implications. Starting from a
micro-level analysis on behavioural dimensions, this study provides useful suggestions also
for macro-level considerations, in terms of actions to be implemented for the development of a
peculiar and fast-growing working category in Europe.
We contribute to the literature on agency workers by testing an extended model that
considers the effects of perceived organizational support on both affective and continuance
commitment. The results from this analysis go beyond the theoretical contribution, by
suggesting also managerial actions to both TWAs and client organizations to support the
development of agency workers through specific initiatives for human resource management
(HRM). Furthermore, these effects may also suggest future directions for policy makers to
improve normative frameworks on agency work with relevant reflections on socio-economic
decisions. Indeed, interesting implications for policy makers from this study may suggest to
strengthenregulatory actions on the TWA industryto improve the employment conditionsof
agency workerswithin public and private organizationsand to provide policy actionsfor both
TWAs and client organizations in developing agency workers’well-being and performance.
ER
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