Disposable workers : the transformation of employment / Paul Osterman.

By:

Osterman, Paul [author.]

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2026Description: 196 pages : illustrations ; 21 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780674300248
0674300246

Subject(s):

Additional physical formats: Online version: Disposable workers; ebook version :: No titleDDC classification:

658.3/01 23/eng/20260520

LOC classification:

HF5549.5.M3 O78 2026

Contents:

Preface -- Setting the Stage -- Standard Work -- How Firms Think -- Contracting and Freelancing -- Marginal Work -- Marginal Part-Time -- How Many Disposable Workers Are There? -- Preferences -- Show Me the Money -- Policy -- Summing Up -- Appendix. The American Training Survey and Regressions.

Summary: "Over 35 percent of American workers are not treated as standard employees, denied both benefits and access to a career ladder. Paul Osterman surveyed more than 6,000 people to understand what it means to be a disposable worker. Noting that most would prefer traditional employment, Osterman offers proposals for job-quality reform."-- Provided by publisher.

List(s) this item appears in: New Adult Nonfiction

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	658.301 OST	Available		36748002658161

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A revealing look at the decline in formal employment in favor of hiring contractors, freelancers, temps, and marginal workers, who are excluded from traditional benefits and career ladders.

Companies cannot exist without workers, but they are increasingly reluctant to have employees. Instead of providing the benefits and protections that have traditionally come with employee status, businesses are turning to tactics that let them treat people as interchangeable parts, to be used and discarded as needed. Drawing on an original survey of over 6,000 workers, Disposable Workers reveals the striking extent of this transformation across the occupational hierarchy, affecting everyone from janitors to nurses.

Paul Osterman identifies three distinct categories of disposable workers: contractors, freelancers, and marginal employees. The marginal category, unique to Osterman's analysis, describes workers who are employees from a narrow legal standpoint but are held at arm's length by their firm-left without job security, skill training, or opportunities for promotion. Many low-wage service workers toil in marginal jobs, but so do white-collar professionals such as adjunct university faculty and staff attorneys at law firms. When the three categories are added up, they account for more than 35 percent of the American workforce.

Not all disposable workers object to their arrangements. But most contractors and marginal employees would prefer standard employment, and there is a significant cost to their current status. In response, Disposable Workers offers a range of policy recommendations, including mechanisms to prevent over-reliance on contracting and freelancing as well as reforms to improve job quality for part-timers and marginal employees. As the deconstruction of employment affects more and more workers, the importance of such measures will only grow.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Over 35 percent of American workers are not treated as standard employees, denied both benefits and access to a career ladder. Paul Osterman surveyed more than 6,000 people to understand what it means to be a disposable worker. Noting that most would prefer traditional employment, Osterman offers proposals for job-quality reform."-- Provided by publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Osterman (emeritus, human resources and management, MIT; Who Will Care for Us?: Long-Term Care and the Long-Term Workforce) raises concerns about the shift many companies are making from hiring "standard employees" (who have access to traditional benefits, protections, training, and a promotion ladder) to hiring contractors and freelancers who operate outside the company structure. Additionally, he notes that companies are increasingly employing "marginalized workers," defined as those within or outside the company's system who can be legally kept at arm's length through part-time or hourly work or positions such as adjunct faculty. Osterman describes these workers--freelancers, contractors, and marginalized laborers--as disposable. Based on government data and an original survey of over 6,000 workers, the author estimates that disposable workers now make up 35% of the American workforce. The book concludes with a comprehensive look at government policies, advocacy efforts, unions, and other tools aimed at addressing this shift toward disposable work, which raises important trade-offs and concerns for both employers and workers. VERDICT Well-researched, providing valuable quantitative and qualitative analysis of the complex changes in work, Osterman's book is essential for readers interested in business, employer/employee relations, and labor policy.--Jane Scott