Waarom gebruiken werkgevers (steeds meer) flexibele arbeidskrachten?

This article examines which factors affect the use of flexible employment by employers. The study distinguishes fixed-term contracts, agency work and jobs without a fixed number of hours. The study utilises the Labour demand panel of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research SCP, for the years 2003-2015 as well as for the year 2015. The factors that are often mentioned in the literature as driving forces behind flexibilization, in particular increasing volatility of markets as a consequence of globalization and technological progress, turn out to have only a minor effect on the share of flexible staff. The analysis for the year 2015 shows that the inflow of new staff has the strongest relationship with the use of flexible contracts. This suggests that flexible contracts are mainly used to reduce the risks related to the uncertainty of the quality of new staff. We conclude that the growth of flexible employment cannot be explained by changes in the context or the conditions of companies and institutions, but points to a change in company culture or HR strategy.