Management 13th Edition by John Schermerhorn,Daniel Bachrach

Exercise 5

MAKE DATA YOUR FRIEND
Businesses seem enamored with the idea of hiring fewer full-timers and more part-time or temporary workers who can be added and let go according to demand.
Disposable Workers Becoming Indispensible to Business Profits

W e're now in the era of the disposable worker, says Northwestern University economist Robert Gordon. The facts certainly support his claim. Businesses are now hiring fewer full-timers and more part-time or temporary workers who can be added and let go according to demand. Professor Susan J. Lambert of the University of Chicago blames some of the switch to disposable workers on the decline of labor union influence in the U.S. Others simply point out the cost advantages to employers who only have to pay for workers as needed.
A McKinsey survey of 2,000 employers found 58% planning to hire more workers on a part-time, temporary, and contract basis.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1 million fulltime jobs have been cut and 500,000 part-time positions added by retail and wholesale employers in the past six years.
Almost 3 of every 10 retail/wholesale jobs are filled part-time. Among those part-timers, 30.6% want full-time work.
Compensation for part-timers in retail/wholesale averaged $10.92 per hour ($8.90 wages and $2.02 benefits) versus $17.18 for full-timers ($12.25 wages and $4.93 benefits).
A survey of retailers in New York City found half of all jobs filled by part-timers. Only 1 in 10 of them had set work schedules. YOUR THOUGHTS
Is this switch to employing more disposable workers a good long-term strategy for businesses How about public sector organizations like governments, schools, and local services What are the possible downsides to the employer and the remaining full-time employees How might this trend affect you Is this something that you have already factored into your career plan