More and more older people are getting temporary work: “Temporary work was an opportunity for me”

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Stephan Brann (58) had a good job. The trained electrician has worked at Swisscom for many years, most recently as a systems engineer responsible for intercom landline phones. But one day he realized: “Floor siding.”

Technical development was advancing extremely fast and was threatening to make his work redundant. But Brann remained true to his field of expertise: “Someone had to take care of the company’s fixed network systems to the bitter end.”

As of 2017, Swisscom has replaced traditional ISDN telephony with Voice over IP. Internal landline systems were no longer necessary. And in 2021 Brann lost his job.

Temporary jobs are on the rise

“I was 57 years old and I knew the business world wasn’t waiting for me,” she says today. But, he thought, maybe he could go back to his main job as an electrician. Despite the decline in their salary and the fact that their salary is lower than the compensation they receive from the unemployment insurance fund. Because staying at home wasn’t for her.

So Brann was looking for a temporary job as an electrician “to see if that was still a thing for me.” See: fit! After four months of temporary work, the temporary job became a permanent position. From then on, Brann worked as an electrician on construction sites, just as he had in his youth.

Stephan Brann is one of many temps in recent years: The proportion of people accepting a temp position has grown steadily since the 1990s (table below).

In 1993, not even half of all workers were employed through a temporary subcontractor. 2.6 percent today. This is demonstrated by a special assessment by Swissstaffing, the association of personnel service providers, based on figures from the Swiss Labor Force Survey.

Striking: the over 55 segment has grown particularly strongly. Their share of all temporary workers has doubled since 2015: from 7 percent to 14 percent. The proportion of 45- to 55-year-olds has also increased. Today they make up a quarter of all temporary workers.

Ariane M. Baer (48), Economics Project Manager at Swissstaffing, sees this as a positive development. “In times of labor shortages, companies are still trying to see where the untapped potential lies,” she says. This is especially true for older people such as the long-term unemployed or former housewives. “Temporary work allows both parties to try whether permanent employment is an option,” says Baer. The pressure for employees to accept the first job that comes their way is also lessening.

Temporary work can help return to a permanent job

According to a previously unpublished study by Swissstaffing, about one-third of all temporary workers consciously seek flexibility, for example, because they are still in training. The other two-thirds are looking for work.

Baer says that temporary work has helped them return to a permanent job. “Our numbers show that more than 40 percent of temporary workers find a permanent position within a year.” One year after starting temporary work, the number of people still in employment is even higher: 84 percent are in a permanent position, on a temporary basis or self-employed.

Daniel Lampart (54) of the Swiss Confederation of Trade Unions views the situation completely differently. According to the economist, the increase in temporary work among older workers reflects their plight: “They work temporarily because they can’t find anything else.”

RAV and companies should work better together

Temporary work can make the situation worse, according to Lampart: “If older employees have to take a temporary job two or three times, it’s very difficult for them to find a permanent job. It doesn’t look good on the resume.”

That’s why Lampart sees the solution not in fixed-term jobs, but in closer exchanges between employment centers (RAV) and companies. “RAV should work directly with companies and permanently place job seekers.”

Swissstaffing Head of Economics Marius Osterfeld (37) disagrees. In many cases, temporary employment acts as a bridge from unemployment to permanent employment. “About a third of people working on a temporary basis were previously unemployed. One year after starting the job, only 12 percent.”

Temporary job Opportunity or risk?

So, is temporary work primarily an opportunity or a risk? Michael Siegenthaler (38) of the ETH Zurich Center for Economic Research wonders what would happen to those affected if there were no temporary positions: “Will they be unemployed or have a permanent position?” According to the labor market expert, this is unlikely to be assessed without more precise data and analysis.

For Stephan Brann, the answer is clear: “For me, the temp job was an opportunity.” Brann has also had positive experiences with staffing. “Within two days the temp agency got me a job at an electric company.”

Meanwhile, Brann has even found a new job: still as an electrician, but has returned to the telecom industry. His professional background keeps him in good standing. Because his future employer is in charge of the electrical business at Swisscom.

This is no coincidence, Brann knows the company president from previous years of work at Swisscom. “This,” says Brann, “closes the circle for me.”

Source :Blick