The Precarious Expendable Workforce - Being Under Contract for a Staffing Agency

I am sick of this. 20 years later, I find myself once again doing temp work. The Canadian economy has failed to adapt to international competition and I therefore do not blame myself for this ongoing challenge to find work related to my career. Nevertheless, having to submit to the conditions of a temp agency is not agreeable. It feels exploitative, deflating, and unfair. While I understand the nature of the business, that is a few people find clients and sell off man hours of labour, the difference in hourly wage accounts for :

• Income for workers of the staffing agency
• Overhead - rent, utilities
• Insurance and licencing

I have an advanced degree, yet the opportunities that the agency offers me labour jobs like doing janitorial work in a factory. Without providing details about an "opportunity", only a date, the agency expressed their need of a worker. I said that I would be available. It ended being a moving job which was a little too dangerous for my liking.  The kicker : I was paid $12 an hour, the staffing agency was collecting $19.

The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy
Erin Hatton's book  : http://www.amazon.ca/Temp-Economy-Permatemps-Postwar-America-ebook/dp/B006K0E58W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443354832&sr=1-1&keywords=9781439900826

http://www.propublica.org/article/the-expendables-how-the-temps-who-power-corporate-giants-are-getting-crushe


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/17/1120933/-Staffing-agencies-are-above-the-law

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/with-temporary-workers-flexibilitys-the-name-of-the-game/article583174/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/canadas-shift-to-a-nation-of-temporary-workers/article11721139/

http://inthesetimes.com/article/15972/permatemps_in_manufacturing

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5677195-a-dime-a-dozen-ontario-s-eye-popping-shift-to-low-wage-work/

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/31/too-many-ontario-workers-exploited-laws-need-quick-overhaul-study-urges.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/17/1120933/-Staffing-agencies-are-above-the-law

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/upshot/the-changing-face-of-temporary-employment.html?_r=0

Roadblocks to finding employment - References for the periods of unemployment

For the past 19 months, I have been looking for work. A few short contracts have kept me busy, but they were positions in which I was doing unskilled manual labour.

With regard to my background, I have a university degree the applied sciences and a master's in the humanities. While the fields may not seem related, I felt is was required that I do the latter in order to round out my my knowledge and in turn allow myself to make better decisions in a variety of contexts.

Unfortunately, I have unable to secure employment. I apply to a variety of different positions, some in the technical field, some in social science research.

With regard to my job search roadblocks, I have applied to government positions. I was happy that there are at least some organisations which recognize and will verify my education. Unfortunately, my periods of unemployment have left me without references for those time frames. There was the option to provide the names of dentists, trainers or physicians. Without a source of income, getting health services was not an option. Besides, who goes to a dentist or physician unless they have a problem?

(It may be a weakness or a sign of me being cautious, but I do not use social media. Okay, I do : this blog.  Life doesn't happen on the Internet.)

The folly of technology and fidelity - Ashley Madison Users and Lie Detector Tests

Last year, I had a job interview where I was required to go through a lie detection test. I laughed at the concept knowing that a) memories change over time; b) memories can be induced; c)a simple search through Google Scholar demonstrates that the scientific community does not take the practice seriously.

Apparently suspicious spouses will be looking to book their for a lie detection test. The only way to catch someone in a lie is evidence. If a person admits to something, it doesn't mean that it is true. If a story changes over time, it is also unlikely that what is being told that a person's world can be held as truth.  Participants should not say anything that does not need to be used against them.

In a nutshell, the ones administering, or paying for the tests, are the ones being duped.

More about polygraph testing will follow in an upcoming post about lie detection. In the meantime, take a look a the following posts :

Anti-Polygraph
Pseudoscience:    List of topics :
The Art of Deception: Polygraph Lie Detection by Michael Lawrence Langan, M.D.
What polygraph interviewers are like...
Oh! Fun! A video on Bloomberg