We live in a century of convenience, fluctuations and fast pace. When something is no longer suitable, our first reaction is to dispose of it or simply replace it. With the current economic fall, many are opting out of using more expensive products and switching to less quality products due to lower costs. Unfortunately, these common trends are now also being applied in business industries, where many companies and organizations continuously restructure their employee base by hiring disposable workers. This out with the old, in with the new mentality has become unavoidable, but it is not without consequences or concerns. Hired to assist companies in meeting business demands, disposable workers allow employers to escape from the costs of hiring regular employees. A disposable employee who demonstrates a good work ethic, fits the company culture and learns quickly may receive an offer of employment, although this isn’t a common movement. Most frequently, hiring such employees serves a business purpose for the company and the objective is omitting the costs of a regular employee. Disposable workers allow employers to maintain a cushion of some job security in employment for regular workers. If an economic downturn was to occur, such employees are the first ones to be let go. This types of positions leave no security for those who are eager to work and good at what they’re doing. It is often said that we live in a disposable society for a reason. It is now much easier to dispose of things and replace them with new items rather than taking the time to repair them, or train if applied to an organizational culture. In a workplace the importance is on productivity. New employees typically bring more up-to-the-minute knowledge and skills. It is easier to hire someone with fresh ideas than it is to awaken them in older employees. Simultaneously, we cannot forget that business decisions are dollar-driven. The costs and benefits of each course of action are calculated and weighed. Emphasis is on cost-effectiveness, as the business must generate profits to survive. William Bliss, President of Bliss & Associates, has a formula for calculating the cost of employee turnover. In The Advisor (isquare.com) he outlines a detailed list of considerations totaling over thirty-five separate cost items. The primary categories include: Costs Due to a Person Leaving, Recruitment Costs, Training Costs, Lost Productivity Costs, New Hire Costs, and Lost Sales Costs. The calculations reach an impressive 150% to 250% of annual salary, depending on the position. Terminating a $50,000 employee eventually costs a company $75,000 to $150,000 on replacing them. When a company hires a disposable worker, they are not faced with any of the above mentioned costs. “The whole purpose of bringing on workers who are employed by temporary staffing firms such as Manpower (MAN), Adecco (ADO), and Kelly Services is that they're easy to shuck off when unneeded” (businessweek.com) Companies are not required to pay for their health benefits, and frequently, the employees don’t even work long enough to establish an unemployment claim. From a strategic point of view, this is a significant reason as to why disposable workers are the new trend. They are eager to work and often times bring in fresh wisdom at a much lesser cost than a regular employee. Many of the more moving points in the article are all too familiar to me as an employee. It doesn't take much of an imagination to picture the stress of not knowing if you'll be working next week or having no benefits. As mentioned in the article, with the economy expanding again, and employers loath to add permanent workers, temp employment is one of the few sectors of the labor market that is growing rapidly. (businessweek.com) The companies that are hiring, are often focused strictly on temporary employees, whose temporary agencies charge a high premium on their pay for their services. These employees often have the same responsibilities and working conditions as regular employees, but are paid less to make up for the temp agency’s markup and increase its profit margin, receive zero benefits and be considered disposable by the employer. This brings in a rather large income to recruiting companies, and they continue following this trend because it’s highly profitable for them, nonetheless much less profitable for the average person hoping to secure a stable position. In comparison with regular employees, temporary agency employees receive less training, less pay and benefits, have zero job security, have less control over how the work is done and are often exposed to more hazardous working conditions. Only when temporary agency employees receive the same pay, benefits and working conditions as their regular employee counterparts, will it become more cost effective for most employers to hire regular employees rather than resort to the quick fix of temporary staffing. The only way I can see this happening is through the unionization of temporary agency employees. According to the European Trade Union Confederation, In the European Union, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, France and Spain, temporary agency employees are increasingly being unionized. The EU has even proposed a set of non-discrimination regulations for temporary agency employees in order to create a level playing field. (opensalon.com) It’s time for American unions to take note of this trend and unionize temporary agency employees in the United States.

Works Cited: 1. Bliss, William. " www.Isquare.com” Published in January, 2014. Accessed on June 4th, 2014 2. Conlin, Michelle “www.businessweek.com” Published January 07, 2010. Accessed on June 3rd, 2014 3. Conlin, Michelle “www.businessweek.com” Published January 07, 2010. Accessed on June 3rd, 2014 4. Lessner, Timothy www.opensalon.com Published on December 14th, 2010. Accessed on June 4th, 2014