Australians the world's most positive about temporary work

• Australian employees have the most positive attitude toward temporary employment in the world (78.6%).
• Australia employs the second-highest percentage of temporary workers in the world (2.8% of the total working population).
• 74.5% of Australian contractors say taking on a temp job helped build their professional network.
• 78.6% of surveyed employees in Australia are on assignment or completed one or more during the last 12 months, and for 45.6% integration at a company was always a good experience when starting assignment.

6 March, 2014: A new study by Page Personnel, part of global recruitment firm PageGroup, reveals employees in Australia have the most positive attitude toward temporary employment out of respondents from 17 countries.

Based on more than 13,000 survey responses from employers and professionals across the globe, the Global Insights – How the World Views Temporary Employment and Interim Management report reveals 78.6% of professionals in Australia have a positive or very positive attitude toward temporary work. Australia also employs the second-highest percentage of temporary workers in the world (2.8% of the total working population), according to the report.

“Businesses in Australia are uncertain about the course of the economy and are responding by implementing cost-saving measures, including careful headcount planning. As skilled professionals are still required to sustain business activity to put companies in a prime position for when the market improves, employers are looking for a financially practical solution to employment. Creating temporary roles is the best way to achieve this as it allows companies flexibility with hiring the resources they need for necessary projects, without a permanent cost,” says Matthew Cook, Managing Director of Page Personnel in Australia.

“Australian employees also have a positive attitude toward temporary employment and are accepting contracting roles as a viable work option. The reason for this is temp roles offer immediate job security and the opportunity to experience the role prior to committing to a permanent position,” adds Mr. Cook.

Of the employees in Australia who responded to the survey, 78.6% said they are on assignment or had completed one or more assignments in the last 12 months. Further, 45.6% of professionals in Australia indicated integration at a company was always a good experience when starting a new assignment.

The top two motivators for surveyed professionals in Australia to accept a temporary role is to help build their professional network (74.5%) and stay employed during a time of economic uncertainty (73.1%). Developing professional competencies (67.6%), increasing chances of finding a permanent job (57.2%) and access to professional training (38.6%) were also ranked highly among the reasons employees in Australia will accept a temporary role.