Differences narrowing between interim and permanent workers, study finds

Interim and permanent workers are growing closer together. Het Financieele Dagblad reported this on Thursday based on the latest trend research into the market for highly educated interim managers by Schaekel & Partners.

The study involved 327 interim managers from various sectors, including financial services, government, utilities, healthcare, industry, services, and retail.

Interim rates have seen an increase of about 2 euros per hour in the last year, but the salaries of permanent employees have risen more rapidly. Consequently, there is now little difference between the earnings of an interim worker and those of an employee with a permanent contract.

Researchers also found that interim workers now receive privileges once exclusive to permanent employees. After their initial period, many temporary managers frequently work from home. Three in 10 respondents still work from home half the time, which matches the average among employees.

"Unlike previous years, the real benefits of choosing between permanent or temporary roles have almost disappeared," the researchers said. "The notion that you're robbing yourself if you don't work externally in your own role is outdated. And that's good news for the labor market, as well as for many employers and employees."

Assignments are increasingly longer, according to the research. The average interim assignment now spans 15.4 months, one month longer than a year ago. Within the government sector, the average assignment duration is even higher at seventeen months.

"One of the biggest differences between employees and self-employed managers is the entrepreneurial risk interim workers face,” said Piet Hein de Sonnaville from Schaekel & Partners. “However, this shows that the risk is not as significant as presumed. The transition from job security to work security has, in fact, already been achieved,” he concluded.