In or Out? Precarious work at universities - subjective and organisational challenges

Internationally, universities have long been characterised by a relatively large and growing proportion of non-permanent academic staff. Research on experiences of precarious work within higher education institutions shows that affected employees often experience vulnerability, exploitation, stress and anxiety (Solomon & Du Plessis, 2023). However, there is less research on what the increasing proportion of temporary positions means for collegial communities, working and learning environments, and institutional stability.
From an organisational perspective, universities’ reasons to have a large group of employees on temporary contracts is frequently linked to increasing dependence on external funding. The flexible use of labour can be thought to enhance productivity, however it can also lead to disappointing results, both in terms of employer satisfaction and in productivity (Ferreira & Delgado 2024). Beyond the negative effects on the employees directly affected by precarious work, organisational and collegial side-effects may arise, including loss of collective orientations, reduced solidarity among staff and loss of organisational sustainability.
The short paper outlines the problem and present preliminary results from a research project aiming at exploring the subjective and organisational consequences of the increasing proportion of temporary staff at universities. In the project interviews are conducted with both temporary staff (typically postdoc’s and adjuncts) as well as permanent staff and research managers. In this paper some tentative analyses based on interviews with two temporary employed will be discussed.