Uticopa Blog

Back in the ‘70s it was standard practice for mothers who wanted to earn some money to go to the many Temp Agencies on the market.  It seemed ideal back then, in an age when the word ‘secretary’ was still en vogue, and there was a mass of women with those all-essential typing skills.  It was especially useful if the children had by then started school.  It allowed women that essential flexibility in their lives, knowing that if an emergency cropped up regarding the children or the home, it would be no big-deal to simply cancel that day’s temporary booking.  The employer was happy in acquiring someone to complete a temporary task;  the employee was happy to gain an extra source of income as well as a modicum of independence.

Oh, how times have changed!

In today’s world of increasing redundancies and company bankruptcies, desperate individuals are again turning to temporary work – anything in fact which will pay the mortgage until more permanent work comes along.  But these days it isn’t just ‘mothers’ who are looking to ‘boost’ the family income.  Increasing numbers of both men and women are looking for work, any work, that will make ends meet.

However, it is now being recognised that workers hired for temporary, contract, casual or fixed-term positions are risking increased mental health problems, according to research presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

"Temporary workers - those lacking long-term, stable employment - seem to be susceptible to declining mental health for as long as they continue to work in these so-called 'disposable' or 'second class' jobs," said Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, a medical sociologist at McGill University and the study's primary investigator. "This research shows that temporary work strains employee mental health, as contingent workers report more symptoms of depression and psychological distress than similarly employed workers who are not in these fixed-term positions.

These findings should be of particular interest for employers as they consider the long-term or global health impact of relying on a contingent workforce to meet current or future employment needs," said Quesnel-Vallée.

The research team considered respondents' temporary work status, depressive symptoms scores, poverty level and educational attainment.

It is interesting to note that this research was started in 2005, long before the current credit-crunch.  Lack of money therefore would not have been the prime reason for the depression due to temporary working;  rather, it is the work category itself and its underlying uncertainties.

I can certainly remember frustrations, myself, when doing temporary work some forty years ago.  Other, permanent, employees tended to ignore the new ‘temporary’ arrival as someone not worth bothering with as she would be gone tomorrow.  Groups of employees would sally forth every lunchtime, completely ignoring the ‘temporary’ person sitting in the corner of the office. And, all the worst types of menial work were pushed onto the temporary newcomer’s desk, freeing-up the permanent employees to do more interesting work. 

Certainly, anyone in this position today may well have to deal with similar kinds of behaviour patterns.  Some things never change. Isolation, humiliation and rejection are terrible things to suffer in the normal everyday world of work, especially if the reason for your being in that position in the first place is desperation for the meagre monetary reward such temporary work brings.

Our mental health is a fragile spiritual concept, not something we can physically touch or see. Nonetheless, it is the vital, essential ingredient which makes us whom we are.  We must not let it escalate into full-blown mental illness at times of economic meltdown.