Abstract:
This paper provides a literature review on nonstandard work arrangements with a goal of answering four key questions: (1) what are nonstandard work arrangements and how prevalent are they; (2) why do organizations have these arrangements; (3) what challenges do organizations that adopt these work arrangements face; and (4) how can organizations deal with these challenges? Nonstandard workers tend to be defined as those who are associated with organizations for a limited duration of time (e.g., temporary workers), work at a distance from the organization (e.g., remote workers) or are administratively distant from the organization (e.g., third-party contract workers). Organizations use these kinds of workers to minimize costs, increase flexibility or take advantage of technology. However, there are unanticipated costs associated with these work arrangements. These costs stem from the challenge of managing the social exchange between workers and the organization, coordination of work and social integration in the workplace, and employee identification with the organization. We suggest some actions that organizations need to take when employing nonstandard workers.