For more than half of temporary workers, permanent work is the real goal, according to a Staffing Industry Analysts survey of temporary workers. Temporary workers were asked, “What has been your primary reason to work as a temporary employee?” Forty-nine percent said “as a method of finding a regular/permanent job or because I thought it might lead to a regular/permanent position, and another 11% take temporary jobs to supplement income while looking for permanent work.
Although temporary workers do not typically see temporary work as their preferred form of employment, nearly two-thirds, 61%, said they would be open to another temporary assignment. Another 28% said they might be open to another assignment, and only 11% ruled out another temporary assignment altogether. Enthusiasm for taking another assignment was somewhat higher for older and/or higher-paid temporary workers; healthcare practitioners were particularly notable in this regard, with 74% saying they were open to taking another assignment.
The research also found temps are not particularly attached to working through staffing agencies. Only about a third of temporary workers, 38%, prefer working through a staffing agency and about another third, 35%, prefer working directly with the employer/hiring manager. Just 5% of temporary workers prefer to work through an online platform. The remaining 23% are indifferent to their work provider. The only sub-group for which a majority preferred working through a staffing agency were healthcare practitioners.
“It should be noted that there is a great deal of variation in these results as a function of temporary worker demographics,” added Jon Osborne, SIA’s VP strategic of research and the author of the report. “Age, hourly wage and occupation all make a difference in terms of what workers are looking for, and this detail should be key to any staffing firm’s recruiting efforts.”
The insight report, “North America Temporary Worker Survey 2020: Temporary workers plans and preferences for types of work,” is based on a survey of 4,000 temporary workers from 33 staffing firms conducted in late 2019. The full report is available online to SIA members.