Abstract

Contingent workers, particularly independent contractors and temporaries, are increasingly performing high risk work across many industries. Based on a review of studies conducted in the mining and petrochemical industries, this article identifies the high risk factors associated with the use of contingent workers. The migration of contingent workers from peripheral (low risk) to core (high risk) tasks has been a major factor in increased accidents rates. Managers need to reduce accident risks from the use of contingent workers, create on-going relations with a limited set of contractors, orient strangers to the work setting, provide incentives for safe performance, create means for employing firms to monitor both contingent and core worker performance, and promote risk awareness at all organizational levels.