It's hard to talk about life as a temporary worker unless you can speak the language of temps. Paul Fairchild and his colleagues at Temp 24-7, a hilarious Web site for free agents, chart the vocabulary of this fast-growing subeconomy in a feature called "Temp Term of the Week." Here are some of our favorite terms, along with edited descriptions of what they refer to:
Office Ass
An occupational condition that results from always using the least comfortable chair in the office. A common medical hazard for the veteran temp.
Example: "I've got a wicked case of office ass. I can't feel my legs!"
Germinators
Temps with a severe cold or flu who show up for work because they don't get sick pay. Identifiable by luminous noses, desks covered with tissues, and abysmally low productivity.
Mailbots
The unsightly drones who by nature prefer life in a back room but who surface occasionally to deliver mail. Mailbots and temps are equal in social status and thus share an unspoken bond of respect.
Pimp
The temp's representative at the staffing agency.
Temp Disk
A standard-issue tool, rather like a temp's Swiss Army knife. Since temps often don't sit at the same desk every day, they must keep their work on a disk that they carry around with them.
Tempons
Disposable temps inserted into an office to absorb excess work, only to be casually discarded when the busy period of work ebbs.
Related Stories: | Topics:Careers, Work/Life, entrepreneurship, leisure, entertainment, Paul Fairchild, Temp Term, Temp Disk, Swiss Army Brands Inc. |
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Recent Comments | 5 Total
April 23, 2009 at 3:35pm by vikas singhania
When a temporary employee agrees to take on an assignment, he or she receives instructions pertaining to the job. Information is provided on the correct attire to wear, hours of work, the wage to be paid, and who to report to upon arriving. If a temporary employee arrives at a job assignment and is asked to perform duties not described to him or her when accepting the job, he or she is expected to call the agency and speak with a representative. If he or she then chooses not to continue on the assignment based on these discrepancies, they will most likely be subject to loss of pay and will undermine their chances of job opportunities. However, some agencies will guarantee an employee a certain number of hours pay if, once the temporary employee arrives, there is no work or the work isn't as described. Most agencies will not require an employee to continue work if the discrepancies are enough to make it difficult for the employee to actually do the work.
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July 31, 2009 at 3:27pm by puja verma
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