D
Catalyst | Dexterity
Managing the
realities of a
contingent
workforce
How can organisations get
the best out of contingent
workers, while balancing
the need for business
flexibility with ethical
employment practices?
I
n 1989, Charles Handy published his
book The Age of Unreason, in which he
introduced his concept of the shamrock
organisation, an organisational structure
based on three leaves: an employed core
supported by what we might now call a contingent
workforce of outside contractors and part-time help.
The point of the shamrock organisation was – and
still is – to provide flexibility in times of change. At the
time, Handy saw that this flexibility was a positive,
not only for companies but for employees too,
offering an attractive alternative to more traditional
organisational hierarchies.
Fast forward 30 years, and the world of the gig
economy feels very different indeed. While many
workers thrive as freelancers and contractors –
research suggests that 70% of freelancers work
for themselves by choice – the picture is less rosy for
those with little choice but to accept work which offers
scant job security and fewer of the benefits associated
with traditional employment relationships.
As technology and larger-scale changes to the
labour market continue to transform organisational
structures and cultures, contingent workers are
simply becoming a fact of business life – with all that
implies, for both good and bad. It’s an employment
trend with plenty of potential for complication
and conflict.
At the extreme, it seems we’ve lost sight of the
reciprocity that once underpinned workplace social
contracts, that the balance has tipped firmly towards
maximum economic flexibility for employers, while
social protections for employees lag behind. It’s a
situation that can create not just individual stress and
misery, but also threaten wider economic and social
wellbeing and sustainability. Few of us want to be that
kind of employer. And while there are broader issues
at play, with regulation across the globe struggling to
keep up with the pace of change, this is still a live issue
that has to be managed on the ground today.
At the other end of the spectrum, companies
are having to compete for much-needed skills
often provided by freelancers and contractors
who value the flexibility and autonomy of working
for themselves and can command remuneration
commensurate with such sought-after expertise.
So how can organisations make the most of the
crucial skills that contingent workers offer? And
how can we balance the need for business flexibility
with employment practices that are demonstrably
fair and workable?
Issue 4 - 2020
35