Osterman Says 6,000-Worker Survey Shows U.S. Shift Toward Disposable Labor
Updated
Updated · MIT Sloan News · Aug 11
Osterman Says 6,000-Worker Survey Shows U.S. Shift Toward Disposable Labor
2 articles · Updated · MIT Sloan News · Aug 11
Summary
More than 6,000 U.S. workers in Osterman’s 2022 survey point to a large and growing share of jobs built around contractors, freelancers and “marginal employees” rather than standard staff.
Osterman argues employers are driving the shift to cut benefit costs and avoid the legal protections, career commitments and staffing rigidities tied to W-2 employment.
His book defines standard jobs as offering both mandated protections and a real place in an organization’s career system, while disposable roles leave workers outside that bargain even when they are legally employees.
Examples cited include Google’s roughly 130,000 contractors versus 120,000 employees and Facebook’s nearly 100,000 contractors, illustrating how major employers rely on labor kept at arm’s length.
Based on surveys first run in 2020 and repeated in 2022, plus nearly 100 interviews, Osterman says the trend is likely to spread even as some workers prefer more flexible arrangements.
With a third of the workforce now deemed disposable, who truly pays the hidden price for corporate America's obsession with extreme flexibility?
Could the corporate rush to replace loyal employees with temporary gig workers ultimately destroy the institutional knowledge companies need to survive?
As AI transforms entry-level jobs, are we witnessing the end of the traditional career ladder or the birth of ultimate workplace freedom?