The relational effects of zero-hours contracts

By guest contributor Jeremy Swan

Quote

“I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”  Jerome K. Jerome

News

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests there could be around one million workers in the UK employed on contracts with no guarantee of work. The study found that 14% of people on such contracts were not given enough hours each week by their employer, and that people aged 18-24 and 55+ were twice as likely as other age groups to be employed on this basis. While the economic costs and benefits have been explored extensively in the media, the relational impact has been given little attention.

First of all, there is the impact on working relationships. Where employees are contracted on a zero-hours basis the lack of continuity makes it harder for them to build strong relationships with colleagues and clients. This is likely to have major implications for client engagement and the team’s collective sense of purpose. It could potentially also create extra work for full-time staff members who would have to bring part-time staff up to speed. The use of zero-hours contracts tilts the balance of power firmly in the employer’s favour and smacks of injustice. Imagine asking a medic or vet to be ‘on call’ without receiving pay! Employees, meanwhile, may become less willing to engage constructively in a relationship that they deem to be unfair.

Then there is the impact on personal relationships. While zero-hours contracts offer flexibility they also create uncertainty. This makes it hard to plan social engagements as you are unsure whether you will be called in to work or not. With this uncertainty comes the danger of ‘continuous partial attention’, which is when we are not entirely present in encounters with others. A person gets distracted from the conversation because they are anxious that they may get a call requiring them to go into work. This reduces quality of time spent with friends and family.

Employment, when viewed through a relational lens, is about giving up your freedom to develop relationships in return for financial reward. In the case of zero-hours contracts, workers are being asked to limit their relational choices while receiving no guaranteed financial remuneration. This is hardly a recipe for a person’s relational wellbeing, or helpful in creating a more relational society.

Read on…

The FT have produced a short video entitled ‘Profit vs Principles’, which looks at the increasing number of companies that have refocused their priorities away from profit and towards the welfare of suppliers, employees and the environment. The video can be viewed here.

Walk the talk

Are you creating good working conditions for your employees or work colleagues that will benefit their relationships both in the workplace and in their personal lives?

The last word

From the Bible, 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 18: ‘The labourer deserves his wages.’