Project Approach
The project will focus on atypical work arrangements such as temporary employment, hiring from staffing agencies, freelancing, and self-employment, as well as combinations of and boundaries between these different forms. The different work arrangements will be compared to permanent, direct employment, but differences within the employment forms will also be highlighted. The data sources include register data, new and existing surveys, and data from several staffing agencies, including Adecco and Manpower, to which the project has gained access.
The project consists of three subprojects, all combining quantitative and qualitative data and research methods. The first subproject covers the employee side and developments in atypical work arrangements, the second subproject covers self-employment and facilitator companies, and the third subproject covers employers and their use of various contract forms.
1. Mapping the Extent of atypical work arrangements, Consequences for Employees, and Transitions into Permanent Employment
This subproject aims to update and improve existing mappings of the extent of various employment forms in the workplace and the consequences for employees, both of having an atypical employment form and working in a workplace or an industry with a high proportion of atypical workers. Consequences include transitions from atypical employment forms to permanent employment, as well as working conditions, work environment, wages and employment terms, opportunities for skill development, health conditions, and the overall work community. The analyses will be based on register data, data from staffing agencies, and a new survey of employees.
2. Developments in self-employment, Boundary Cases, and Facilitators
This subproject will examine self-employment, boundaries between different employment forms, in particular between employee/self-employed and staffing agencies/subcontractors, and various types of "facilitators" who mediate work between contractors/employees and clients. The subproject includes a legal review of the boundary between employee and contractor status and empirical analyses of the extent of various self-employment forms, working conditions of employees in facilitator firms, and the role of facilitators. The analyses will use register data, existing surveys, a new survey of employees, and interviews with facilitator companies.
3. Employers' Use of Atypical Work and Possible Consequences
This subproject will use existing and new data sources to analyse the reasons for companies' use of atypical work arrangements and the effects on profits, productivity, and employment. Other effects include the impact of increased atypical work on the access to labor and various types of skills. The analyses will use register data, data from staffing agencies, a new survey of employers, and case studies of a small number of businesses.
See also
The Norwegian Institute for Social Research has a number of projects that investigate teams related to atypical labour markets. See, among others:
- Temp Agency Work: Worker Welfare, Organization and Efficiency (TEMPO) (2025–2027),
- EU labor immigration and the organization of work (2023–2027),
- Follow-up evaluation of new provisions on hiring from staffing agencies (2023–2026),
- Alternative work arrangements and worker welfare (ALTWORK) (2021–2025),
- Developments in alternative work arrangements (2021–2023) and
- Temporary employment and groups with a weak attachment to the labour market (2016–2017)
Privacy Policy Guidance
This project utilizes personal data from individuals who are difficult to contact for the purpose of providing individual information. The data is processed for research purposes, and the legal basis for the processing is the public interest. The project involves the use of ordinary personal data and special categories of personal data, including data revealing health data, racial or ethnic origin and trade union membership. The data is obtained from the following sources: Statistics Norway (SSB) and national data collections. In collaborative research projects, datasets may also be shared with external project participants and their affiliated institutions.
The legality and privacy implications of the personal data processing have been assessed prior to the commencement of the project, which adheres to ethical guidelines for research. The Institute for Social Research is the data controller for the project.
Individuals who can be identified in the dataset have rights and may lodge complaints regarding the processing. Please feel free to contact our Data Protection Officer, the project manager, or the Norwegian Institute for Social Research if you have any questions or require guidance.
Publications
Alternative tilknytninger i arbeidsmarkedet – Delrapport 1: Fasilitatorbedrifter. Read the report in Norwegian at regjeringen.no.
