Non-standard Employment - when Even the Elite Are Precarious

Overall, themes of marginalisation and disadvantage dominate much of the literature on non-standard employment and the studies which underlie these themes are generally restricted to the temporary, casual and part time workforces. This paper presents results from a survey of 240 professional workers who have moved into arrangements of contract employment. A key focus of the paper is the establishment of the Push/Pull Matrix, a tool which analyses individuals' movement into non-standard employment in a way which explicitly recognises and deals with the relationship between both personal and situational factors. The survey results suggest that themes of marginalisation and disadvantage are just as relevant to the professional contractor as they are to other forms of non-standard employment.