The Benefits Implications of Recent Trends in Flexible Staffing Arrangements

Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper No. 02-88

35 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2003

See all articles by Susan N. Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

Date Written: August 2001

Abstract

Workers in flexible staffing arrangements - including temporary agency, direct-hire temporary, on-call, and contract workers - are much less likely than regular, direct-hire employees to be covered by laws mandating or regulating workplace benefits. Workers in such arrangements, in turn, are much less likely to receive pension, health insurance, and other benefits on the job. This paper documents these differences in coverage by benefits regulations and differences in benefits receipt. The paper also reviews evidence on the incentives employers have to use workers in these various flexible staffing arrangements. Although reducing benefits costs is not the only reason employers use flexible staffing arrangements, it is an important factor motivating many employers to use them, and the level of and growth in these arrangements would be lower in the absence of this incentive.

Keywords: contingent work, part-time, benefits, healthcare, pension, contract, Houseman, Upjohn, temporary

JEL Classification: J3, J8, K3

Suggested Citation

Houseman, Susan N., The Benefits Implications of Recent Trends in Flexible Staffing Arrangements (August 2001). Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper No. 02-88, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=369320 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.369320

Susan N. Houseman (Contact Author)

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research ( email )

300 South Westnedge Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49007-4686
United States

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