Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Deterring Knowledge Development and

Contributions

Temporary Staff Facing An Attitude Time-Warp

HRINZ Conference September 2001

The Future of Work: Talent Balance Results

Michael Richards

2

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

• Who has worked as a Temporary employee?

• Hired Temporary Staff?

• Managed directly temporary Staff?

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

What words do you associate with the word?

4

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Objectives

Describe the Attitude Time-warp

Identify its self-fulfilling characteristics

Explore the implications for business success

and organisational learning

5

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

A Temping Story

6

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Just a temp is such a damming phrase to use. If, for example, the temp gets injured on the job, or creates a whole pile of scrap then people

take notice.”

Temporary Employment Consultant

Meaning of Words

7

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

“Field research matters. Even if at the end of the day you have far fewer

knowledge claims to make because of so many other possible confounding variablesYou still have a tale to tell…a wealth of

informationabout what really goes on in a field setting

and more importantly, ... an excellent understanding of the

phenomenon of interest.”

Canadian Society for Industrial Organisational PsychologyKline, T. (July, 2001).

The trials and tribulations and payoffs of field research.

8

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Are people less important than the quality and quantity of their outputs?

A Business Reality?“Just the hired help!”

Perhaps we have just become desensitised to the needs of people in favour of the need to

produce?

9

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Old attitudes towards temps

still cloud today’s workplace!

10

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Training

“Our clients often use temps in a manufacturing setting…they had a 10

minute rule.”

10 minutes from the front door to the job.

That was all the job allotted to HR issues, safety and job training.

Temporary Employment Consultant

11

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

“The fallacy is that most HR people think that the jobs temps do are so

simple a monkey could perform them. By underestimating the level of effort for the job, HR does a great

disservice to the temp employee but also to the company.”

Temporary Employee

Monkey see, Monkey Do

YESTERDAY’S

TEMPS

VoluntaryExtra Income

Secure Future Work

FewEmployment Agencies

Short-term

Small% of Company Staff

Secretaries•Kelly Girls

•Girl Fridays

Transient LabourersHousewives

Students

ClericalAdministration

TemporarilyUnemployed

13

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Disposable

Negative Labels

• Uneducated

• Unreliable

• Uncommitted

• Unable to find a real job

• Second-class worker

• Job-hopper

• Low-maintenance

• “Just a temp”

Beliefs

Expectations

TODAY’S

TEMPS

VoluntaryExtra Income

Secure Future Work

BoutiqueAgencies

GreaterFrequency

Increased Volume

Expanded Roles

Highly skilled

DiverseSkills

A Lifestyle

Current Trends

• According to Australian, Recruitment & Consulting Services Association (RCSA), 69% increase in casual workers between 1988-1998.

• Last 5 years in USA, increases from 1.2 to more than 2 million in temporary staff.

– In 1990’s 22% of all new jobs were temporary.

• 90% of companies use temporary staff to augment full-time regular workforce (NATSS, 1999)

• Fastest growing segment of staffing industry.

The Temping Triangle

*RCSA NZ Coporate Members,2000

Employment Agencies

Organisations

Human Resource

Positive Positive

PsychologicalPsychological

ContractContract

•8000 working every day in NZ

•32,500 registered NZ*

•450 Employment Agencies

•1200 Personnel Consultancies

•1000 Members NZ & Australia in RCSA*

Unlimited

17

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Lack of a Positive Psychological Contract

“A person’s experience of work and the interpretation they place on that experience, plays a fundamental part in how they view their job and the organization

they do it for. This experience creates a set of unwritten rules, beliefs, and commitments about

how people approach work that we call the psychological contract.”

Eder, G. (2000, October). The Psychological contract: Its implications for Managers. NZATD Networker, p. 3.

18

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

People or Machines?

Temps are not human robots, replaceable at whim. They are potential employees who come

into the organisation in a unique way. Each one has the opportunity to grow in competence and confidence, evolving into

successful, permanent employee.

Some of the best employees our clients have came to them as temps.

Training Consultant

Congratulations!We have reached out target!

Temporary staff Area

Full time staff Area

20

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Temp WantedProven Flexibility & Adaptability

“Can-do Attitude”

Variety of Assignments

21

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

The attitude time-warp

The

Pygmalion

Effect

Today’sReality

Yesterday’s Expectations

The Pygmalion Effect in Temporary Employment

Many organisations believe temporary staff are “disposable”

Communication of these beliefs/expectations through biased/selective verbal and non-verbal

interactions/cues

Staff respond to these behavioural cuesand behaviour is constrained and changed

Staff perceives self as “disposable” and original belief is validated

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY

23

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Picking up Cues

“…our research shows that most employees can-and do-’read their boss’s mind.’ In particular they know full well whether they fit into their boss’s in-group or out-group. All they have to do is compare how they

are treated with how their more highly regarded colleagues are treated”.

Manzoni, J. & Barsoux, J. (1998 Mrach-April). The Set-Up -to Fail Syndrome. Harvard Business Review.

What we believe affects how we act. The way organisation's manage temporary

staff can constrain and limit the possibility of them behaving in other ways.

24

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

The Attitude Time-WarpWhat are the costs?

Costs of the Attitude Time-Warp

Organisational• Decreased

performance• Mistakes• High Turnover• Failure to get

best from staff• Unavailable &

Detached staff

IndividualDisempowered

• Alienated • Indifference• Dehumanised• Frustrated• Ignored• Isolated• Undervalued• Marginalised• Reduced

Motivation

Interpersonal

“Them-us” Culture

Temporary vs Full-time

• Decreased team functioning

• Tension

• Uneasiness

DECREASED BUSINESS SUCCESS

26

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

The Attitude Time-WarpWhat are some solutions?

People Management*

•Job design

•Skills Development

•Climate of involvement

•Trust

•Fairness

People Management

Practices

+

Supportive Organisational

CulturePositive

outcomes

• Knowledge development

• Organisational learning

Positive Psychological

Contract

Commitment

Motivation

Contribution

Productivity

Profitability

Flexibility

*Rudman, R. (6 January, 2001) People Management and the bottom Line

http://www.hrinz.org.nz/info/academic_journal/articles/default.asp

28

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

The Challenge

for your attitude time-warp

to ensure that what you like about

temporary staff does not become

the organisation's continued nemesis

in the future.

Be Aware, Acknowledge and be Accountable

29

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Think back to our earlier exercise.

Are the words we thought of……?

+ POSITIVE? +

- NEGATIVE? -

o NEUTRAL? o

30

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Objectives

Describe the Attitude Time-warp

Identify its self-fulfilling characteristics

Explore the implications for business success

and organisational learning

31

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

The Attitude Time-Warp

Does it exist where you work?

32

Peop

le,

Syste

ms

Working Relations

Mike RichardsPeople, Systems & Working

Relations30A Hogans RdGlenfield, Auckland 1310New ZealandPh/Fx 64 9 443 3542spocker@xtra.co.nz

The Psychology of the Temporary Employment Industry.

Human Resources, August 2001.

Working Relations Expert (On-line) LibraryAvailable: http://content.monster.com.au/experts/Richards

ADDITIONAL READINGSCONTACT DETAILS