The Working Conditions of Non-standard Workers and Their Transitions

By using a unique dataset, "the survey on non-standard experience and transition," in This Article, we examine the relation between the working conditions of non-standard workers and their transition to standard work. Especially, we focus on workers' experience; the changes in place of work as well as the changes in task assignment while they are employed as non-standard workers. We find, firstly, almost half of non-standard workers experienced a change in task or a change in workplace, that implies even non-standard workers are not pinned to a single task. Secondly, the non-standard workers who experienced multiple tasks and workplaces are more likely to search for the opportunities to transition to standard work. Thirdly, experience in multiple tasks, however, does not always enhance the transition to standard work; namely, the success rate is lower for those who experienced multiple tasks and workplaces than for those who experienced only single task and workplace. While experience in multiple tasks means continuity from non-standard work to standard work, such experience is not highly valued in the Japanese labor market. On the contrary, a single task and workplace assignment during non-standard work does not hinder workers' transition from non-standard work to permanent work.