A new infographic from Mavenlink.Com reveals the growing trend of outsourcing jobs in big business and breaks down the motivations for doing so. The graphic points out that the temporary workforce is expected to grow over 40% by 2020. Also of interest is that 90% of the firms included in the survey report that they have used contract or temporary workers.
Over 60% of the same firms say they will likely increase outsourced labor in the years to come. The graphic positions these trends as positive news for unemployment numbers, but if you think that’s true, your not living in the real world.
Would you give up your current position at your organization for an unstable assignment as a “temp” worker? I think most people would tell you NO! Typically temporary assignments and contract work don’t provide the benefits or incentives that permanent employment at organizations provides. Benefits like healthcare, paid holidays, 401K, or vacation time typically are not available.
Remember when General Motors said that their decision to outsource production to other countries wouldn’t hurt our (the United States) economy? Ask the people of Flint, Michigan if that was true. What outsourcing truly represents is reduced responsibility and minimal investment to the people who do corporations grunt work. I think it’s unacceptable. Many growing corporations and businesses pride themselves on providing stability and security for their employees and their communities.
I am shocked at how populations consider this practice acceptable and how we allow the media to paint it in a positive light. We need to demand increased responsibility from the organizations who occupy our neighborhoods and consume our resources. Don’t be fooled by deceptive statistics and boastful PR campaigns, outsourcing is bad for the general population and bad for the economy.
However, I would be foolish to insist that some professionals can’t benefit from the flexibility and financial freedoms that contract work can provide. Not all professionals lend themselves to being tied down to one organization. It simply doesn’t make sense. However, I fear this growing trend isn’t about catering to these specialized experts, but more a tactic to increase profit margins and minimize obligations.
I don’t see the corporate giants who destroyed the economy with the housing bubble taking responsibility for their actions. No, as usual it is the taxpayers responsibility to bail out the organizations who have been abusing us and leaching money from our family budgets. I don’t think so, unacceptable! There are a lot of great corporation s and organizations out there, let’s not encourage this trend.
Anyway, enough of my ranting, take a look at the infographic and the shocking statistics:
