The world of temp jobs is a tricky one to navigate. There definitely are demand for skilled temp workers to fill a sudden and short-term need within any organization.

Temp jobs generally pay higher than a regular job, to compensate for the instability of hours. Most temp workers are signed up with multiple temp agencies, some as many as double digits. However, temp agencies by nature cannot guarantee a full-time income, leaving most temp workers scrambling to make ends meet financially.

The benefits to being a temp worker are:

1. Flexibility. You work when you want to, and you can easily remove yourself should you choose not to work.
2. Per hour pay is generally higher.
3. Meeting new people and getting new challenges is always exciting.
4. Learning about different companies and what they do.
5. Making multiple connections that could lead to a permanent position.

However, there are several drawbacks.

1. Most temp workers only get 1 to 2 shifts a week.
2. Work tend to be entry-level types (e.g. administration, marketing, data entry etc), without ability to move ahead.
3. Typically no or very few benefits.
4. You have to make yourself available for potential work, leaving your schedule highly unpredictable.

The likes of Uber and Lyft have made temp work accessible to anyone with a vehicle. But if you don’t have a car, or prefer a different line of work, the options are more limited.

Most workers temp until they can find something more stable. Even part-time work is more preferential to temp work, as it guarantees a stable income.

On the other hand, temp agencies face the issue of high turnover and low reliability, as most workers will leave as soon as they find a more permanent position. This leaves the industry in the dire straight that we see today, with agencies and workers mistrusting each other, since workers do not trust agencies to represent their best interest, while agencies are constantly faced with no-shows from workers (and typically without any consequence).

There is no simple solution. To break the mistrust and rebuild the bond we have to satisfactorily address the concerns of both sides. Here are some suggestions we’ve heard from talking to both sides.

1. Temp agencies should make sure each worker gets the maximum number of weekly hours before signing on another worker.
2. Agencies can try to engage more with workers that already have a stable job, and is looking for additional income through a side hustle.
3. Agencies can help to provide a path forward with training, scholarships, and providing connections. Perhaps even a path to full-time employment. People tend to try harder when there is something to aspire to.
4. Workers help bridge the trust gap by committing to every job they sign up for, reducing no shows, and are guided by standard operating policies. A rating/review platform will also help add transparency and promote actions with consequence.

The holiday season is upon us, and everyone is busy with shopping, parties and family gatherings. No one is thinking about hiring…or are they?

In fact, studies show that companies hire more people in January and February than any other month of the year. This is usually due to several reasons.

1. Hiring managers receiving their budget for the new year and therefore are able to increase headcounts
2. Employees wait for their Christmas bonus before quitting, hence the rush for exits in January, leading to a subsequent wave of hiring
3. Projects on hold during the holidays are now back in full swing, along with the need for people
4. Backlog of hiring from the previous year as hiring managers and HR personnel return from vacations

All of the above give someone looking for work more reason to pause festivities and start looking for work now. In fact, it is the best time to land a new job. According to Forbes magazine, the top reasons to job hunt in December are:

1. Less competition
2. Hiring managers are thinking about next year’s projects and needs
3. Greater opportunities for networking as most people are gathering for holiday parties
4. Lots of temporary work available around the holidays
5. Let’s face it, people are a bit nicer and feeling a bit more charitable during the holiday season

All the more reason to gear up your job search during the holidays. So what are you waiting for? Start your search now!

I recently watched a documentary on Andrew Carnegie, the U.S. steel tycoon of the late 19th century. It detailed his life as a poor young immigrant from Scotland, who built one of the biggest companies in the world. He’s now largely remembered as being both the wealthiest man of his time and a great philanthropist, whose credits include the prestigious Carnegie Hall and Carnegie Mellon University.

But interestingly there was a dark side to this great man. His company, Carnegie Steel in Pittsburgh, was the setting of one of the bloodiest strikes in U.S. history, the Homestead Strike in 1892, which lasted 143 days, and resulted in the death of ten men. One of the reasons of the strike was the company’s decision to decrease wages when it was making record profits. Benefiting from the industrial revolution, Carnegie and his chairman Henry Clay Frick were both in favor of replacing human workers with machines, saying that machines don’t demand wage increases and never sleep.

The industrial revolution saw the replacement of low-skilled human workers by steam engines and machines. Manufacturing being the first ones to bear the brunt of this change. Now in the age of AI (artificial intelligence), and low-skilled workers are again the first ones being impacted. Wal-mart and other supermarkets are already testing robots used to greet people and check inventory on shelves. Human greeters are replaced with robot counterparts, who amuse children and adults alike. Self checkouts went from an annoying presence in McDonald’s to proliferating within every major retailer.

There are already robotic chefs and baristas being tested. While their hefty price-tags keep most retailers away, it’s only a matter of time before these technology become cheap enough for mass consumption.

The advancements in automation leave low-skilled workers in a tough spot, resulting in an oversupply of labour, stagnating wages for decades, and creating a huge boom in the post-secondary education, as workers scramble to become better educated and more qualified for jobs that are less likely to be replaced by machines.

Politicians like Elizabeth Warran in the U.S. are calling for higher corporate taxes and a new wealth tax in an attempt to shrink the growing wealth gap. While this may appeal to some, in the end corporations and the wealthy will always figure out a loophole. And it’s always better to reward than to punish. Perhaps a dual reward/penalty system could work. For example, for every job that a company cuts, as long as the company is in profit, it should pay a tax equivalent to 5 years salary as compensation for social benefits the now unemployed person will claim. And for every new job a business creates, it can gain a tax incentive equivalent to 5% of the salary for the position, effectively making it cheaper to employ human labour. Hopefully this will help normalize the adjustments needed in a future world driven by A.I.

But with a painting created by A.I. selling for over $430,000 at auction, is any industry truly safe?

You’re running your business, creating strategies, aligning the team, talking to customers, and fighting off the competition every day. Everyday you hustle.

You perform a juggling act on a daily basis, trying to keep all the balls in the air. Inevitably things get hectic, and cracks begin to appear in your business. If you’re busy putting out bigger fires you’re apt to let small things slide, but these are dangerous, as they can build up over time and become a much bigger problem later on.

1. Inevitably things will pile up. If your biggest client is requesting a meeting, but you’ve already set up interviews to replace the customer service rep who just quit, you might have to drop your interview just to make the client meeting. Unfortunately leaving the gap in customer service to just become bigger.

2. Get help on non-critical activities such as reading resumes and phone vetting. At Workholler, we can help the business owner by sending a pre-vetted temp worker to help out when business needs arise. Because we’ve already done the interviews and reference checks, no interview is required. This way the business gets some breathing room to set things to right.

3. Take a deep breath and stay calm. Remaining calm in the face of storm will give you the fortitude to carry on.  You know you’ll live to fight another day.  After all, you’re the boss, and you hustle like one.