Sixty-Six Percent of Contingent Workers Cite Meaningful Work as a Top Workplace Attribute, According to New Flextrack Research

Flextrack’s market pulse uncovers factors beyond pay rate that greatly influence contingent workers’ decisions to accept and stay with an assignment

Flextrack, the world’s first extended workforce solution powered by Salesforce and artificial intelligence, released the results of its 2022 State of the Contingent Workforce Report at Staffing Industry Analysts’ CWS Summit North America. The proprietary research, which is based on a pulse survey of contingent workers across industries in the U.S. and Canada, signals that company culture is catching up to compensation as a top workplace priority as pay increases have taken hold over the past year.

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“Competitive pay rates are still important. Inflation is at a 40-year high, and employers won’t be able to hire top talent without attractive and fair pay rates”

Sixty-six percent of contingent, or non-employee, workers said meaningful work is very or extremely important to them when evaluating a new assignment. Schedule flexibility (65%), a collaborative and supportive work environment (63%), a positive interview experience (63%), and company commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (60%) closely followed. Over half of respondents said they would consider ending an assignment early due to a toxic workplace or bad management.

“Competitive pay rates are still important. Inflation is at a 40-year high, and employers won’t be able to hire top talent without attractive and fair pay rates,” said Jeff Mike, Head of Research at Flextrack. “But our data shows workers now expect more than just bigger checks. Cultural factors are becoming critical for attracting and engaging non-employee workers, a category that now comprises up to 50% of the average company’s workforce. The organizations that connect work with purpose and meaning will have a clear advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining this talent.”

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Flextrack’s research explored a variety of workplace attributes important to contingent workers. Other key findings include:

• Stability ranks high among worker preferences as fears of a recession grow. Sixty-four percent of non-employees said company stability is very or extremely important to them when evaluating offers. Just over half (51%) said they were confident in their current work stability despite the potential of a recession. Another 45% said they would consider leaving an assignment early based on economic conditions.
• The work culture expectations gap between contingent worker and regular employee experiences is narrowing. Almost 60% of contingent workers report regularly receiving recognition for good work. Over half regularly experience the same respect as full-time, regular employees. Yet, 47% say they don’t have the opportunity to give constructive feedback on their assignments and nearly 60% say they aren’t regularly given post-assignment exit surveys – a missed engagement opportunity.
• Unmet worker expectations drive talent mobility. Just under half (45%) of respondents report they have terminated an assignment early due to dissatisfaction. This is similar to the percentage of contingent workers who indicated they would consider ending assignments early if the role was not what was described during interviews (49%), if there was a change in remote or in-person working expectations after starting (45%), or if the role had fewer hours or less work than promised (45%).

Additionally, non-employee workers said they would consider quitting early for greater professional development, (47%), daily pay (44%), a higher pay rate (43%), more hours (43%), or if they experienced a lack of inclusion in team or work activities (42%).

“Today’s extended workforce community has higher expectations for businesses across the board. If organizations don’t deliver, these skilled workers are able to quickly find new roles at organizations that better suit their preferences and needs,” said Peter Carr, President of Flextrack. “As skills shortages and economic uncertainty persist and workers rethink their work life priorities, it’s time for organizations to upgrade their strategies, technology, and overall extended workforce experience to attract, manage, and retain the non-employee talent that is critical to their business.”

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