Atypical Employment Practices:A Qualitative Investigation

Globalisation has lead to the emergence of atypical employment practices, aided by employment flexibility strategies, resulting in wide-spread restructuring and downsizing. Most studies on atypical employment practices have been quantitative, focusing on the psychological contract and the development of models to help mainly permanent staff still in the organisation. However, the present study is set apart because it was qualitative and focused on the perceptions of the organisation’s actual decision-makers: managers. Thus the study aimed to understand the trends, opinions and justifications of managers regarding this topic. This would elucidate how managers have analysed and rationalised their use of flexible work arrangements. Participants were selected using convenience sampling. In-depth, tape-recorded interviews were used for data collection. Data were content analysed using NVivo and coded for the existence of concepts. This study would be useful to anyone interested in atypical employment practices and management perceptions of them.