Outsourcing means utilizing the services of what was once called an employment agency to fill positions within a company. The benefits to a major corporation include drastic reductions in initial outlay to fill a position because initial position announcements, headhunting, initial screening, background checks and in any cases, drug testing is performed by the hiring agency. Additionally, the corporation does not have to carry payroll and benefits for outsourced positions; benefits and payroll services are handled by the hiring agency.

There are several problems inherent to becoming an outsourced employee (contractor) that are not made clear to candidates. First, there is limited or no potential for upward movement or permanent hire with the client corporation. Second, contract employees receive far fewer benefits that regular full-time employees. Paid time off in the form of vacation days, sick days, holidays, etc., are not offered to contractors. Health benefits -- if available at all -- are typically substantially less than those offered to regular full-timers of the corporation. Contractors pay higher deductibles, co-pays and premiums for fewer benefits.

This may not seem like an unreasonable consession, but when one accepts an employment contract, it is understood that the candidate will remain in the position for as long as they are needed. The majority of the time, a contractor will accept a short-term position not knowing that the job has the potential to last for years. THIS is where outsourcing becomes inhumane.

When a contractor accepts an engagement, they will put forth their very best effort on a daily basis, just as any regular full-timer would. Often, a contractor will work even harder in the hope that if they work hard enough and become valuable enough to the corporation, they will be hired full-time as a permanent regular employee. They are not told that this is often contractually forbidden by the agreement between the corporation and hiring agency.

The contractor may work for years -- potentially the entire duration of a career -- for the corporation without ever seeing a pay raise, increase in benefits, the option to re-negotiate the terms of their contract or a single paid day off. Holidays for a contractor do not represent a day off; they represent a day without income. Contractors are also exempt from educational benefits, corporate vesting programs and all other benefits the person sharing their workspace with them is getting as a full-time regular employee.

When a contractor has been doing a job well enough to still have it after five years, ten years, or more, that contractor has become a valuable asset both to the hiring agency and to the corporation. Yet, they are treated as equal to a new-hire with no experience.

The life of a contractor is a demoralizing one. They work day after day with the clear knowledge that they may be terminated at any time with no notice and without having done anything wrong. Theirs are usually the first positions cut when a corporation needs to adjust their financial numbers so they look better to shareholders. Imagine for a moment what it would be like to work at your top capacity every single day, knowing you may join the ranks of the unemployed at any time due to circumstances far beyond your control.

Now add to that working under that stress for several years without a raise in pay or a single paid day off. Instead, every day off represents not just a day without pay, but increased potential for termination (simply because you weren't there and another contractor could have been).

For every $50,000 a corporation pays for a contractor, the contractor will earn only $25,000-$30,000 of that amount. The hiring agency keeps the rest. The better agencies use a portion of that money to provide some form of health benefit, but again, they are small companies and do not fall under the same federal requirements as a large corporation.

The incidence of stress-related illness, major depression, anxiety disorders and the need for inpatient psychiatric care is at least ten times higher for contractors than it is for the general population. That is hugely significant, and clearly illustrates that contracting (especially long-term contractor positions) may be hazardous to one's health and well-being.

The solution is simple. Outsourcing/hiring agencies need to be held accountable for the working conditions in which their employees are placed. Every contract -- whether initially intended to be short- or long-term -- should include a set schedule of paid time off to include holidays, sick leave and a minimum of one week of vacation per year for every five years of service. Health benefits should be comparable to those offered by the client corporation by a ratio of at least 7:10.

To offer any less, then to place a contractor into a work environment in which they are plainly short-changed on pay and benefits when compared to their full-time regular counterparts is inhumane and wrong. Equal compensation for equal work! FAIR and HUMANE compensation for all!

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