You get hooked on the freedom of this life-style. It’s very addictive. If ifs a beautiful day, I go to the beach instead of office and no one has a problem with it. Usually my temp service is thrilled to hear from me after a two-day work reprieve. I also like going in and doing a great job, especially if the company isn't expecting a temp with brains. It's great to prove them wrong. A lot of the firms I've temped at request me back by name.
Career temporaries are occasionally referred to as professional temps. This can be very confusing, since temporaries are filling more and more technical (professional) types of openings. For the purpose of clarity, we will always refer to full-time temporary workers as career temps.
When people make a career out of temping, it does not mean that they can't find permanent work or that they are unstable, irresponsible employees. Most get job offers frequently; they simply choose not to say yes. For career temps, temping is their livelihood. They report with satisfaction that the advantages of temporary employment far out weight the negatives.
Professional Temps
Contemporary corporate culture stresses fast-track careerism. Old-fashioned company loyalty has given way to workers who want a successful career, yet want to pursue individual freedoms. This way of thinking has let a whole group of professionals, such as attorneys, doctors, chemists, engineers, computer specialists, accountants, and senior-level executives (in a variety of fields), discover that temping can be an acceptable, as well as an emotionally satisfying and financially rewarding, career route. Ground-breakers in these fields have helped to give credibility to an employment pattern previously unthinkable for such professions. It is an era of the entrepreneur; and although professional temps do work through a service, many function as though they were independent business people. "I run my own show," says one such temp. "I put the pressure on myself to work; there's no one boss looking over my shoulder to check my progress."
Stereotypical Temps
We would be denying a basic reality if we didn't admit that there are still temps who are everything the public perceives them to be. Yes, they are irresponsible, they can't hold down permanent jobs; in short, they're a bit flaky.
However, you may encounter this personality no matter where you work, be it a permanent job or a temporary assignment. Such people naturally gravitate toward temping because it is structured around their idiosyncrasies. The good news is that the temporary help field is now being actively sought out by people who traditionally would have chosen permanent positions, thus elevating the caliber of the temporary employee. Unfortunately, employers have lived with the stereotypical temp for some time, and many expect the worst when a temp walks through the door. We suggest that you make the most out of this situation. Your work habits and abilities will make you an immediate star.
What makes temporary help attractive to business?
Industry experts put the number of temporary help firms at over 7,600 in the United States alone. This includes everything from the mom-and-pop shop to the well-known industry giants and their branches or franchise offices. Much of the temporary help industry's expanded popularity and use in staff managements is in response to the layoffs and staff cutbacks of the 1981-1982 economic recession. Organizations began implementing lean-and-mean management styles by advocating the use of temporary staff rather than risk hiring permanent personnel. Temps represent no extra expenditures. A slowdown no longer represents a layoff-it simply means a temporary work assignment has ended. More and more companies budget temporary employees to the purchasing department as a labor expense rather than to a specific department's personnel budget. The company benefits from purchasing specific labor costs rather than incurring severance costs when a peak work period is over. Businesses cannot afford to maintain large labor pools with employees of every skill category and then use these workers' skills sporadically. Today, it is typical to find a core of key permanent employees surrounded by a staff of temporary employees who fill in on an as-needed basis. For most businesses, the supplier of these temporary employees is a temporary help service with its army of temps ready to step in for a half day or a full year or more. During our research, we learned of one temp who has been temping at the same assignment for seven years.
Another reason for the enormous growth in the temporary help field is the changing face of the office that results from new technology. The automated office has created a real demand for skilled equipment specialists and operators. Temporary help services as well as individual employers are currently competing heavily for this category of worker.
Traditional uses for temporary help continue to remain a constant in business. Companies still call on a temporary service for quick-fix replacements for ill or vacationing employees, and to handle seasonal needs or one-time projects. According to the Administrative Management Society, nine out of ten businesses now use temporary help at least once a year.
