More flexibility
In 2006, 8.9 million people (full-time employees) worldwide were employed through a private employment agency. Their main reasons for choosing agency work were because it represented real choice, a way to get a permanent job, an opportunity to improve skills and gain additional income. Job satisfaction is consistently given a high rating by agency workers.
Why choose temporary work? – Survey results from USA
US agency workers’ primary aim (77%) is to gain permanent employment, though only slightly fewer (73%) see it as a useful tool to improve their skills. Additional income (69%) is also an important factor.
Significantly, flexibility or reasons related to flexibility – such as variety (67%) and the ease that agency work can provide, including flexible work time (66%), more family time (56%) and less stress (56%) – highlight that many workers are trying to improve their work-life balance. Increasingly, this is proving a key reason for choosing agency work: people are less willing to work longer hours just to earn more money, or when, this is to the detriment of their quality of life.
Smooth transition to retirement?
Experienced workers (above 50) still represent only a small segment of the agency work population. However, their numbers are increasing. These workers perceive agency work as a way to finish a career and improve their work-life balance before retirement.