Chapter 16: Labor Flexibility in the Information Society: Is There a Balance between Skills Improvement and Use of External Employment?

Irini Voudouri
Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece

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"The tree held strong; the reed he bent the wind redoubled and did not relent until finally, it uprooted the poor oak"

Jean de La Fontaine

Abstract

This study investigates flexible work organization in the Information Society. Based on data from Greek companies, the study attempts to identify the relationship between the level of training and the use of independent contractors, temporaries and subcontractors with regard to the level of ICT adoption. Findings generally appear to suggest that firms recognize the need for personnel training to exploit the advantages of ICT use, however, different types of working arrangements are subject to an increase of training level, whereas temporaries appear not to benefit from any work-related training.