Entering any new work environment is always a scary proposition. Any new employee will take a few days to work out the office dynamics and decide who to befriend and who to avoid. More than this, those he is joining will need to make up their minds on their new colleague. When temping, this situation becomes far more common; it happens most weeks.
Entering an Office Environment
As mentioned above, an office is always an intimidating place to walk into for the first time. Unfortunately for the temp, this is an experience he will have to go through repeatedly, changing from office to office as his employment agency demands.
Office politics can be a minefield to navigate; any temp who is there for solely a few days shouldn’t even bother. In any new place, it takes time to decipher the convoluted relationships and thus would take far more effort than is necessary.
However, should an employment agency place a worker inside an office for more than a week, or provide a permanent part time job, then the situation becomes more complex. It is important in these cases to try to keep in every faction’s good books, hard as this can be to achieve. Never mentioned when recruiting, diplomacy is an important skill for any temp to learn.
Temporary Warehouse Placement
One of the more common assignments given by an employment agency is to work in a warehouse. As well as trouble fitting in with the existing staff, this sort of job features more physical dangers. A common problem, especially amongst younger workers, is to try and impress the other employees through acts of strength. Foolish at the best of times, this can lead to the temp causing serious injury to either himself or another worker.
What makes matters worse for the temp is that neither his employment agency nor his temporary employer are under any pressure to pay him any money in the case of an injury. This means that should an accident happen at work, the temp has no way of earning money until fully fit again.
Part Time Jobs
A different employment situation, although one that needs to handled just as carefully, is working in a part time capacity. Due to not spending as much time at work as one’s colleagues this can lead to the worker missing out on important events.
Whether these be an irate customer at a shop or restaurant, an accident at a warehouse, or an alarm at an office, they can lead to the worker feeling left out and not a part of the team. Worse, other employees can feel the same way, increasing the sense of alienation.
Whilst not a serious danger in the same vein of physical harm in a warehouse, it is important to feel at home and welcomed at work. Should an employee feel cut off and isolated, then his morale could well suffer, and with that his quality of work.
There are many dangers awaiting those who undertake part time or temporary work. Whilst these range from physical to emotional issues, they are all serious and should be considered before starting the job. Should such an issue arise, the employment agency is the best place to turn to – they’re paid to support and help the temp.
Philip Copple - Phil Copple is an English Literature student from Exeter. Having never worked in a literary field before, suite101 is a novel experience. ...
