These days not only are temporary work contracts more common than ever before, but it’s often the work-mode of choice for employers and employees alike.
According to a new study by recruitment consultancy firm, Page Personnel, employees in Australia have the most positive attitude toward temporary employment across the 17 countries it surveyed.
Based on more than 13,000 responses from employers and professionals across the globe, the Global Insights – How the World Views Temporary Employment and Interim Management report revealed 78.6% of professionals in Australia have a positive or very positive attitude toward temporary work.
Notably, Australia also employs the second-highest percentage of temporary workers in the world (2.8% of the total working population), according to the report.
“Businesses in Australia are uncertain about the course of the economy and are responding by implementing cost-saving measures, including careful headcount planning,” Matthew Cook, MD of Page Personnel in Australia commented.
Cook added that in the current economic climate, employers need the efforts of skilled professionals to sustain business activity, but often can’t commit to a permanent arrangement.
“Creating temporary roles is the best way to achieve this as it allows companies flexibility with hiring the resources they need for necessary projects, without a permanent cost,” he said.
Far from begrudgingly accepting temp roles, the data indicates that Australian employees also have a positive attitude toward temporary employment and are accepting contracting roles as a viable work option. “The reason for this is temp roles offer immediate job security and the opportunity to experience the role prior to committing to a permanent position,” Cook said.
The top two motivators for surveyed professionals in Australia to accept a temporary role is to help build their professional network (74.5 per cent) and stay employed during a time of economic uncertainty (73.1 per cent).
Developing professional competencies (67.6 per cent), increasing chances of finding a permanent job (57.2 per cent) and access to professional training (38.6 per cent) were also ranked highly among the reasons employees in Australia will accept a temporary role.