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Examples of new diversity in forms
of work
Crowdsourcing
– Companies use
online platforms to contract out work.
Large projects are often broken
down into smaller work packages
which job seekers then apply for.
Casual employment
– This refers to
a form of employment where work-
ers do not have contractual enti-
tlement to specific regular working
hours, for example, seasonal work-
ers or on-demand workers.
Employee sharing
– A worker is
jointly employed by several com-
panies. Examples of this include
different companies creating a pool
of workers they share or companies
“loaning out” workers during slow
periods to other companies.
Portfolio working
– This refers to a
situation where a person works for
several companies at the same time
on a contract basis and is usually
done with smaller contracts.
New diversity
in forms of work
The proportion of atypical work has increased significant-
ly and is now part of the working life of approximately
one in five people in the “core workforce”
3
(Datenreport,
2013). Only when the following criteria are met can we
speak of “normal” working conditions: full time, per-
manent employment; integration in the social security
system; and employment by the same company where
one works
4
. This contrasts with atypical employment
which occurs when one of these criteria is not fulfilled.
This includes people who work part-time, have a limit-
edcontract, do temp work or have “mini jobs”
5
. In ad-
dition, there is an increasing number of people who are
self-employed and who do not have a regular employ-
ment contract. For these people, a “contract for work and
services” is particularly important. Companies are in-
creasingly using Internet platforms to offer project work
to freelancers (see Chapter 2).
Consequences for employees
Work is becoming increasingly heterogeneous. For a
significant portion of the workforce, this means that
working hours, working locations and companies are
constantly changing. Worker profiles and histories are
becoming more diverse.
Some forms of atypical employment can benefit workers,
for example, if part-time employment enables a person to
have a better work-life balance. However, atypical employ-
New Forms of Work
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