Contingent work

Contingent work, casual work, gig work or contract work is an employment relationship with limited job security, payment on a piece work basis, typically part-time (typically with variable hours) that is considered non-permanent.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the nontraditional workforce includes "multiple job holders, contingent and part-time workers, and people in alternative work arrangements". These workers currently represent a substantial portion of the US workforce, and "nearly four out of five employers, in establishments of all sizes and industries, use some form of nontraditional staffing". "People in alternative work arrangements" includes independent contractors, employees of contract companies, workers who are on call, and temporary workers.

Terminology

Contingent workers are also often called consultants, freelancers, independent contractors, independent professionals, temporary contract workers, staff-augmentation workers, or temps. Contingent work jobs are widely referred to as McJobs. This term was made popular by Douglas Coupland's novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, and stems from the notion that employment in McDonald's and other fast food and retail businesses is frequently insecure. The term contingent workers differ from regular employees primarily in the nature of their employment relationship and contractual arrangements. Contingent workers perform services under short-term or project-based contracts, without continuous relationship with the employer, while employees typically work for an organization on a long-term basis and are included on its payroll

History

Industrial Revolution

The concept of what is now considered to be a job, where one attends work at fixed hours, was rare until the Industrial Revolution. Before then, the predominant regular work was in agriculture.