Temporary agency work is perceived as facilitating access to work and gaining new skills, according to a new survey published by the French staffing association Prisme. The study conducted in March 2013 aimed at understanding the perception of temporary agency workers on agency work, identifying their reasons for using it and following their employment history.

The report was presented in a press conference yesterday. The results indicate that by and large respondents seem to be satisfied with agency work: as many as 88% of respondents had a positive experience, and 22% agree that being a temporary worker improved their opinion of agency work.

Interestingly, the aspect that respondents were most satisfied with appeared to be the relationship with the agency: 51% of respondents declared being very satisfied and 41% rather satisfied. On the opposite side of the spectrum, gaps between assignments gathered most of the angst, with 13% of respondents being rather unsatisfied, and 4% unsatisfied. Nevertheless, the proportion of respondents that were satisfied with these gaps gained three percentage points compared with March 2012, to reach 82%. Likewise, satisfaction with pay gained two percentage points to reach 85%.

According to the results published yesterday, as many as 78% of respondents agree that temporary agency work provides quick access to employment; of this category, a third turned to agency work as they could not find work under a fixed-term (CDD) or indefinite duration contract (CDI). As many as 32% or respondents agree they chose agency work as an opportunity to gain new skills. Finally, 15% of respondents chose agency work in order to get a foothold in companies where they were likely to apply for a permanent position.

The report also highlights the stepping stone effect of temporary agency work. For the purpose of the survey, a panel of 1,002 people who were temporary agency workers in 2012 were asked about their employment status in March 2013. The results indicated that 42% were still temporary agency workers; 32% were unemployed, which is an improvement compared with 42% prior to the first assignment. Furthermore, 11% of respondents were employed with a CDI and 8% with a CDD, compared with 5% and 3% prior to the first assignment, respectively.

Finally, overall temporary work agencies were perceived as an efficient way to access fixed-term (CDD) and indefinite duration contracts (CDI) by a majority of respondents: 62% of private sector employees, 61% of public sector employees, 52% of unemployed people and 51% of students.

The full report in can be accessed in French language from here.