The Impact of Temporary Staffing Agency Employment (TSAE) on Employee Performance in China

Abstract

The increasing use of temporary workers (dispatched labour) has become contentious in China since the implementation of China’s Labour Contract Law in 2008. Supporters of the Temporary Staffing Agency Employment (TSAE) industry in China, consider it as a cost-cutting, human resource-management tool for solving unemployment whiles its critics consider the industry as a means for companies to make workers more “flexible” with less protection.This study uses individual level analysis to assess the impact of the human factors (commitment to firm and agency, job security, job satisfaction and job stress) on the overall performance or output of dispatched or temporary workers in Temporary Staffing Agencies Employment (TSAE) in China. The study finds a statistically significant positive relation between job security and performance, commitment to Firm and performance as well as commitment to agency and performance. Furthermore, the study finds a negative relationship between job stress and performance as well as between job satisfaction and performance. Moreover, the study also finds that correlations among the independent variables highly impact on employee performance. The study also finds that the Chinese culture has an overarching influence on the impact of the human factors on the overall employee performance. The paper acknowledges the complexity underlying the concept of TSAE in China and recommends further studies to broaden knowledge and understanding, especially the interactions between culture, the human factors and performance.