This document discusses the trend of "disposable workers", where companies employ many individuals on a temporary or contingent basis without benefits. It notes that business trends suggest worsening conditions over the next 5-10 years with small pay increases and low job security. While companies defend these practices as necessary for competitiveness, data shows corporate profits increased primarily through lower payrolls rather than higher revenues. The document raises questions about the impact of these temporary employment relationships on employee attitudes, behaviors, and how to measure the effects of downsizing on workers.

1. CASE INCIDENT
Era of the Disposable Worker ?

2. Disposable Worker - The Term
• A disposable worker is a temporary or flexibly
assigned employee.
• Some labor economists call them disposable or
throwaway workers

3. The Case
• This case is based upon a trend which refers to the
employment of a number of Individuals on a
temporary or a contingent basis.
• These individuals stay deprived from benefits such
as health insurance, provident funds, vacations,
severance, employment guarantee etc.
• The business trends as on today suggest that the
next 5 to 10 years will be similar with small pay
increases, worse working conditions and low levels
of job security.

4. Defense Mechanism used by Companies
• One dimensional approach as a company is judged
primarily on a single parameter i.e. Stock Price.
• Due to increasingly competitive and global
marketplace, it might be necessary to sacrifice
some jobs to save the organization as a whole.

5. The Truth
• Based upon the data from the financial sector,
corporate earnings of the companies have
increased but not due to increase in revenue, but
due to lower payrolls.
• Wages also rose slightly during this period of rapidly
increasing corporate profitability.

6. Q.1 To what extent can individual business decisions
(as opposed to economic forces) explain deterioration
in working conditions for many workers ?
• Workers tend to leave jobs as the bond between
them and the organization is missing
• Efficiency of the organization is at stake
• High Attrition Rate
• Wastage of Training Resources invested on workers
• Extension of working hours without any incentives

7. Q.2 Do business organizations have a responsibility to
ensure that employees have secure jobs with good
working conditions, or is their primary responsibility
to share holders ?
• Yes, it’s the sole responsibility of the organizations
to maintain a balance between an employee
friendly culture and profitability.
• Example: Vineet Nair (Former CEO HCL
Technologies) (2007-2013) introduced a strategy of
“Employees First, Customers Second: Turning
Conventional Management Upside Down”

8. Q.3 What alternative measures of organizational
performance, besides share prices, do you think might
change the focus of business leaders ?
• Introduction of a ranking system based upon
employee satisfaction which would acknowledge
the organization and in turn result in enhanced
goodwill of the company.

9. Q.4 What do you think the likely impact of growth of
temporary employment relationships will be for
employee attitudes and behaviors ? How would you
develop a measurement system to evaluate the
impact of corporate downsizing and temporary job
assignments on employees ?

10. Impact
Short
Term
Long
Term
• Such a Mentality would create a
class of employees that would be
bankrupt in terms of how they
approach life and the organizational
culture will be affected.
•The ‘genius’ within an individual
gets locked up or is at sleep. ‘The
inner genius’ is what makes us
unique, valuable and stand out of
the crowd.
•Employees would tend to quit
jobs and avoid joining such
organizations.
• The organization won’t be able
to function as an entity or a team.