Comments on: Avoiding Another Dumb Management Mania-The Disposable Worker

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:27:34 +0000

Thanks, Mike! Agreed. -Art

By: Mike O.

Mike O. — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:10:34 +0000

Great Stuff! Your points play an important role in our current economic climate. Contract workers might solve your short term problems, but will only hurt your organization in the long run. An organization’s greatest resource are the people involved. Mike

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:33:47 +0000

Excellent points, all Thanks for adding in here, Pat. -Art

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:21:13 +0000

There is a more subtle problem here:

1) Temporary workers have no motivation to IMPROVE the business. They just do what they are told.

2) Temporary workers end up working for multiple businesses. At some point, one of those businesses will decide that they rather hire the person full-time. At that point, the other businesses will discover the music has ended and a key person has disappeared with *no* notice ( there is no standard “2 week” notice with a contract person )

3) IRS auditors can decide that the “temporary contractor” is really an employee. Then the business has all the expense of an employee – but none of the benefits.

4) Hourly employees have no motivation to be efficient.

By: Patricia Comer

Patricia Comer — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:57:45 +0000

I keep thinking it can’t get any worse, that some day we will wake up and decide as a collective that the time-proven adage that ‘our employees are our most valuable asset’ will prevail once again. It appears I am wrong on both accounts…or maybe it is my impatience…

Pat

By: Robert Comer

Robert Comer — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:45:53 +0000

I agree with your perspective, contract workers may work well for the short term or for temporary projects; but any one looking to build a sustained business for the long term will find that contract staff will give them a underdeveloped workforce that won’t be able to compete with a seasoned team.

By: Bret Simmons

Bret Simmons — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:37:46 +0000

As Seth Godin correctly points out, any company that pursues a strategy of replaceable workers is in a race to the bottom. Thanks for calling this what it is – bad advice. Bret

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:10:17 +0000

Thanks for adding your valued perspective, David. They do indeed bite back. -Art

By: David Locke

David Locke — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:07:40 +0000

Places that use temporary labor do have a culture where the full-timers are better than the temporaries. The temps are fired at the drop of a hat. Temps are hired to be fired, instead of losing the few full-timers. It is a culture of discrimination and entitlement.

Given that bodyshops don’t provide benefits, and still charge their clients as if they did, the only reason to take a temporary labor position is fear. The whole situation is one that limits the worker’s ability to focus.

It comes down to this, if management can’t create value via their companies, they create value by laying off, buying back shares, etc. These tactics should trigger fire sales on Wall Street. Eventually, that fire sale does happen, because these companies have thrown away their futures. The CEO engaging in these means will be long gone. The only upside is that that CEO’s kids and grand kids won’t have jobs. These things do bite back.