Numerical Flexibility — A Fashionable Theory

Abstract

Flexibility does not solely relate to the work people actually do but also to the number of those employed to do it. Of course, there is nothing new in this phenomenon, particularly with regard to part-time workers in some industries and temporary workers in others. In the food industry, the hiring of temporary and/or part-time workers has been the traditional way of life. In secretarial and administrative areas numerous agencies owe their livelihood to their ability to provide an endless stream of ‘temps’ to work in city offices and this pattern can be repeated in many different sectors. However, it is clear that the actual pattern of employment is now shifting in a much more fundamental way and is beginning to affect manufacturing industry now as never before.