Non-Standard Employment in the Management and Professional Workforce: Training, Consultation and Gender Implications

Over the past decade, important changes have occurred in the occupational mix of the non-standard workforce, with a rising number of professionals and managers entering part-time and temporary forms of employment. However, while this shift is widely acknowledged, there remains some confusion regarding its consequences. One strand in the literature argues that, at higher occupational levels, the tendency for non-standard employees to experience marginalization at work will be far less pronounced or non-existent. A second strand argues that, regardless of occupational level, workers on part-time and temporary contracts will be treated unequally in various ways. In this article our aim is to explore this matter, drawing on data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey. The analysis reveals that managers and professionals on non-standard contracts do become marginalized in terms of training opportunities and consultation at work, and that these outcomes are especially strong in the case of women. Finally, the managerial, national-level training policy and legal implications of the findings are discussed.