Voutsina, Katerina

katrinvou@yahoo.com

(2008)

IT Experts in Flexible Forms of Employment

A trend that seems to characterise current workplaces is the decline of standard employment patterns in favour of more flexible work arrangements. In particular, in knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy, such as the high technology field, skilled and well experienced workers tend to operate as independent contractors establishing differing types of relationships with client firms.

The aim of this research is to address the conditions and problems associated with the emergence of contingent employment forms in the high-skilled IT sector. Examining the everyday practices of IT experts who work as contract-based workers, the research attempts to shed light on the terms and conditions that make the contingent work arrangement beneficial and desirable for both parties (the individual and the organisation). Instead of focusing solely on the firm's perspective, the research is concerned with the way work is done, in order to enhance our understanding about the enactment and sustainability of this relationship in practice.

Supervisor: Jannis Kallinikos, PhD

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