An Examination of Health Care Workers in Nonstandard Work Arrangements and Self-Employment

Nonstandard work arrangements includes overlapping concepts of: 1) contingent work (based on self-employment status, length of work, method of payment, and connection to employer), 2) alternative work (ie, temporary agency worker, on-call worker, contract company worker, and independent contractor), and 3) electronically-mediated work (sometimes referred to as “gig work”). Between 1995 and 2015 the healthcare industry experienced one of the fastest growths in nonstandard work arrangements. However, there is little documentation on which health care occupations are frequently involved in these work arrangements, or the characteristics of these workers.

This report examines healthcare workers in self-employment, contingent, and alternative nonstandard work categories, identifies occupations involved in these types of work, and discusses workers’ personal characteristics.