Temporary Worker Alienation and Job Performance: The Impact of Rating Source

This study extends previous research on alienation of temporary workers, by developing a measure of temporary worker alienation and examining differences in the perceptions of alienation between temporary workers, coworkers, and supervisors. This study found that supervisors’ ratings of temporary worker alienation were significantly lower than the temporary workers’ self-ratings. Moreover, the authors found that alienation was negatively associated with self-ratings of job performance but unrelated to supervisors’ ratings of job performance. This supports the contention, based on literature concerning the treatment of temporary workers, that a gap exists between supervisors and temporary workers with regard to perceived alienation.