Variation in worker responses to subcontracted employment: A qualitative case study

Abstract

This article shows that professional skill level of employees is a key factor in the formation of employee responses to subcontracted forms of employment. In addition, the proportion of employees hired through temporary staffing arrangements compared to the core workers determines the employees’ capacity for collective action. This article uses observational and interview data from a public university hospital, where both skilled health care professionals and janitorial workers are hired through temporary staffing arrangements. The findings reveal that skilled health care professionals develop more individualistic responses to cope with the subcontracting practices, and the co-employment of subcontracted and permanent workers undermines solidarity among them. Lacking the professional skills and positioned at the bottom of the hospital hierarchy, janitorial workers opt for collective action against the hospital administration. Finally, the analysis of counter-responses of the hospital administration points to the dynamic nature of workplace relations, and the capacity of employers to reshape the responses of workers.