Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 61

Non-standard work and workers: Organizational implications

In this paper we provide an overview of the research on nonstandard work with a view to answering the following questions: (i) why do organizations use nonstandard workers, (ii) how has the practice of using nonstandard workers affected human resource management practices in organizations, and (iii) how has the use of nonstandard workers affected the profitability, productivity and sustainability of organizations. We build on previous reviews of nonstandard work arrangements (Ashford, George, & Blatt, 2008; Connolly & Gallagher, 2004; George & Ng, 2010) that focused largely on the individual worker’s experience of this practice. Our point of departure from these reviews is that we also focus our attention on the organizational implications of using nonstandard work and nonstandard workers. In addition, this review will consider updates to the literature since the most recent review by George & Ng (2010).