contingent employment definition

Contingent Workers

Contingent workers are typically defined as people who are not employees of a company. Instead, these workers are freelancers who might work under a contract, on a temporary basis or provide consulting services as needed. Many companies consider salespeople as contingent employees. Instead of receiving a salary, a contingent worker receives payment or commissions for completed work. Contingent workers cannot be told how to complete a project, as they work for themselves. The company's focus with contingent workers is not how the work gets done; the focus is on the results.

Contractual Employees

All employees who are hired in states with at-will employment guidelines are contractual employees whether there is a written agreement or not. The IRS defines these employees as common-law employees. At-will employment allows an employer or employee to terminate the work relationship at any time without cause. As long as employees meet the rules of employment, and work continues to be available, their "contract" for work continues. Violations of the contract, such as disciplinary actions or company violations may result in the ending of the contract. Contractual employees might work on a permanent or temporary basis. Contractual employees have taxes withheld from their paychecks and might be eligible for benefits dependent upon company policy and employment laws.

Advantages

The advantages of a contingent workforce compared to contractual employees include that the company does not have to collect and pay quarterly taxes from paychecks. Instead, only an IRS 1099 tax document is created at the end of the year for payments to contingent workers when the year's payments were $600 or more. In contrast, an advantage of a contractual workforce is that it ensures that staff is available during specific hours to handle business needs.

Disadvantages

While hiring contingent workers reduces the need for staffing in certain areas, an employer lacks control over the contingent worker. Because a contingent worker manages himself, a company has only monetary control over the worker. The company cannot set work hours or treat contingent workers as employees. Companies that violate the IRS rules with respect to these independent contractors will be required to change the worker's status and pay fines and penalties, along with all back taxes on the payments made to the worker. The disadvantage of an employee workforce is that the employer incurs added costs, including federal unemployment taxes, employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare taxes, office rent and maintenance and office supplies and equipment for the employees to use.

labor pool definition

Labor is the amount of physical, mental, and social effort used to produce goods and services in an economy. It supplies the expertise, manpower, and service needed to turn raw materials into finished products and services. In return, laborers receive a wage to buy the goods and services they don't produce themselves.

Labor is the amount of physical, mental, and social effort used to produce goods and services in an economy. It supplies the expertise, manpower, and service needed to turn raw materials into finished products and services.

In return, laborers receive a wage to buy the goods and services they don't produce themselves. Those without desired skills or abilities often don't even get paid a living wage. Many countries have a minimum wage to make sure their workers earn enough to cover the costs of living.

Labor is one of the four factors of production that drive supply. The other three are:

1. Land. This is short for the natural resources or raw materials in an economy. 
2. Capital. This is an abbreviation of the capital goods, such as machinery, equipment, and chemicals that are used in production.
3. Entrepreneurship. This is the drive to profit from innovation.

In a market economy, companies use these components of supply to meet consumer demand.

The economy runs most efficiently when all members are working at a job that uses their best skills. It also helps when they are paid according to the value of the work produced. The ongoing drive to find the best match between skills, jobs, and pay keeps the supply of labor very dynamic. For this reason, there's always some level of natural unemployment. For example, frictional unemployment allows workers the freedom to quit a job in search of a better one.

labor pool definition

How Labor Is Measured

Labor is measured by the labor force or labor pool. To be considered part of the labor force, you must be available, willing to work, and have looked for work recently. The size of the labor force depends not only on the number of adults but also how likely they feel they can get a job. It is the number of people in a country who are employed plus the unemployed.

Not everyone who is jobless is automatically counted as unemployed. Many are jobless by choice and aren't looking for work. Examples include stay-at-home moms, retired seniors, and students. Others have given up looking for work. These are discouraged workers. 

The real unemployment rate measures everyone who would like a full-time job. It includes the discouraged workers. It also includes those who are working part-time only because they can't get a full-time job. It's called the real unemployment rate because it gives a broader measure unemployment.

The labor force is used to help determine the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate formula is the number of unemployed divided by the labor force. It tells you how many people in the labor force are jobless but are actively looking for work.

The labor pool shrinks during and after a recession. Even though many would like a job, they aren't looking for work. They aren't counted in the labor force.

The labor force participation rate is the labor force divided by the civilian non-institutionalized population. It tells you how many people are available and looking for work.

The amount of goods and services that the labor force creates is called productivity. If a certain amount of labor and a fixed amount of capital creates a lot, that's high productivity. The higher the productivity, the greater the profit. High productivity gives the worker, company, industry, or country a competitive advantage.

Why are workers contingent?

What is a contingent worker? This is a common question professionals ask when they are considering their employment options. Contingent workers are a group of people who do not have a contract that explicitly defines any long-term employment with a company. Their work is exclusively based on short-term engagements.

Employees who do not want to work in a certain company for a long period of time also fall under the category of contingent workers. Such employees may defined as freelancers, consultants or independent contractors. They can either work in the company’s offices or remotely. They are highly skilled and experts in their areas of specialization.

Differences Between Contingent Workers and Employees

Contingent workers are not considered employees of a company. They work as freelancers under a contract or on a temporary basis. Unlike permanent employees, their retention depends on the continued existence of the job at hand.

Contingent workers do not receive salaries. Instead, they receive payments or commissions for the work done. They are not liable for benefits like contracted employees and are responsible for their own taxes. Contingent workers cannot be told how to complete a project, as they work for themselves. The company’s main focus when dealing with them is on the results of the project, not how it is being done.

Importance of Contingent Workers to Companies

Companies who want to improve their overall output may hire contingent workers to expand their labor force. Tapping into the contingent workforce can also help companies save a lot of money on expenses associated with direct exits of contracted workers, training new employees and lost productivity. Companies also save by not hiring employees for skills that may not be useful in the next six to 12 months.

labor pool definition

Definition: Labour force participation rate is defined as the section of working population in the age group of 16-64 in the economy currently employed or seeking employment. People who are still undergoing studies, housewives and persons above the age of 64 are not reckoned in the labour force.

Description: The labour force participation rate is the measure to evaluate working-age population in an economy. The participation rate refers to the total number of people or individuals who are currently employed or in search of a job. People who are not looking for a job such as full-time students, homemakers, individuals above the age of 64 etc. will not be a part of the data set. This is an important metric when the economy is not growing or is in the phase of recession. It is that time when people look at the unemployment data.

At the time of recession, it is generally seen that the labour force participation rate goes down. This is because, at the time of recession, the economic activity is very low which results in fewer jobs across the country. When there are fewer jobs, people are discouraged to focus on employment which eventually leads to lower participation rate. The participation rate is also important in understanding the unemployment rate in the economy. Analysing consistently the unemployment rate in the economy is very important.

People who are not interested in working or getting some sort of employment are not included in the participation rate, but to understand the unemployment data better, participation rate is considered carefully. An ageing population may have a negative impact on any economy. That is when the labour participation rate comes into the picture. If the rate is on the higher side, it is a good sign. But if it is on the lower side, it can also act as a warning sign for any economy. For that reason, participation rate as well as unemployment data should be looked into simultaneously to understand the overall employment status in the economy.

What is WiFi How does it work?

Ah, good ‘ole WiFi. From helping us to keep our phone bill low (except March, goddammit) to allowing our laptops/tablets/etc. to connect to the internet, WiFi has been a ubiquitous companion that we’ve all come to know and love.

WiFi is also useful for some IoT applications (wait, what is IoT?), such as building and home automation or in-house energy management. For many other IoT applications, WiFi is absolutely useless.

Given the importance of WiFi to our everyday lives and to certain IoT applications, here are 8 interesting things about WiFi that you didn’t know!

1) WiFi Started in Hawaii

Or at least, the early precursor to WiFi did. ALOHAnet was a pioneering computer networking system, developed at the University of Hawaii, that provided the first public demonstration of a wireless packet data network.

That was in 1971. It wasn’t until 20 years later that NCR Corporation and AT&T Corporation invented WaveLAN, considered the true precursor to WiFi. Then, in 1997, the first version of the IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol was released.

“But wait”, you say, “what’s the IEEE 802.11 wireless protocol?”

2) WiFi = IEEE 802.11

When any two machines communicate to each other, they need certain standards and protocols defined to enable them to communicate. IEEE 802.11 refers to the set of standards that define communication for wireless local area networks (with IEEE standing for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).

What is a Computer Network? - Types & Definition

A computer network is a set of computers connected together for the purpose of sharing resources. The most common resource shared today is connection to the Internet. Other shared resources can include a printer or a file server. The Internet itself can be considered a computer network.

Computer Network Defined

A computer network is a set of connected computers. Computers on a network are called nodes. The connection between computers can be done via cabling, most commonly the Ethernet cable, or wirelessly through radio waves. Connected computers can share resources, like access to the Internet, printers, file servers, and others. A network is a multipurpose connection, which allows a single computer to do more.

Types of Network Connections

Computer networks can be broken down historically into topologies, which is a technique of connecting computers. The most common topology today is a collapsed ring. This is due to the success of a network protocol called the Ethernet. This protocol, or network language, supports the Internet, Local Area Networks, and Wide Area Networks.

Star Topology

A star topology is a design of a network where a central node extends a cable to each computer on the network. On a star network, computers are connected independently to the center of the network. If a cable is broken, the other computers can operate without problems. A star topology requires a lot of cabling.

Bus Topology

A bus topology is another type of design where a single cable connects all computers and the information intended for the last node on the network must run through each connected computer. If a cable is broken, all computers connected down the line cannot reach the network. The benefit of a bus topology is a minimal use of cabling.

Ring Topology

A similar topology is called a ring. In this design, computers are connected via a single cable, but the end nodes also are connected to each other. In this design, the signal circulates through the network until it finds the intended recipient. If a network node is not configured properly, or it is down temporarily for another reason, the signal will make a number of attempts to find its destination.

A collapsed ring is a topology where the central node is a network device called a hub, a router, or a switch. This device runs a ring topology internally and features plugins for cables. Next, each computer has an independent cable, which plugs into the device. Most modern offices have a cabling closet, or a space containing a switch device that connects the network. All computers in the office connect to the cabling closet and the switch. Even if a network plug is near a desk, the plug is connected via a cable to the cabling closet.

Definition of contingent

Companies are continuously trying to maximize efficiencies and cut costs in order to increase profitability. With labour being one of the biggest expenses in business, it’s only natural that companies would start looking for innovative ways to get work done more efficiently at lower costs, which is how the contingent workforce was born.

What Is a Contingent Worker?

Contingent workers are defined as freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, or other outsourced and non-permanent workers who are hired on a per-project basis. They can work on site or remotely. However, they are not simply temp workers—this discounts the high-value nature and complexity of today’s contingent workforce. Contingent workers are highly skilled experts in their fields.

These workers are hired to complete specified tasks under a statement of work (SOW) provision. Once the project is over, they leave, though they may be called back when another project arises. As such, they are not employees of a company and the business owner has no responsibility to provide continuous work on a permanent basis.

Contingent Worker versus Employee

Contingent workers are not salaried. They do not receive benefits. They are responsible for their own taxes as they work for themselves—not the company. Therefore, the company is not responsible for deducting federal and provincial taxes, CPP, or EI.

Contingent workers also have more control over their own work than employees of a company do. They aren’t told how to complete projects or when to work. The company’s focus is not on how the work is completed but rather on the results.

Which categories make up the contingent workforce?

As a category, contingent workers may include temporary employees, part-time employees, independent contract workers, employees of the temporary help industry ("temps"), consultants, seasonal employees, and interns. In contrast, full-time, permanent employees frequently are referred to as core employees.

CONTINGENT WORKERS

As a category, contingent workers may include temporary employees, part-time employees, independent contract workers, employees of the temporary help industry ("temps"), consultants, seasonal employees, and interns. In contrast, full-time, permanent employees frequently are referred to as core employees. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines contingent workers in a more selective way. The BLS differentiates between workers with what it calls "alternative work arrangements" and contingent workers, who have no explicit or implicit contract and expect their jobs to last no more than a year.

TYPES OF CONTINGENT WORKERS

There is much discussion in the literature about just how the term contingent worker should be defined. Following are descriptions of common contingent worker categories.

TEMPS.

Temporary employees, or temps, generally work for temporary employment agencies that place workers in companies for short-term assignments. While most temporary employees earn less than their full-time counterparts and do not receive benefits, that has changed for some job specialties, particularly in the computer and information systems areas. Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc. and Kelly Services Inc. of Troy, Michigan, are two of the largest temporary agencies.

PART-TIME EMPLOYEES.

Part-time employees work fewer than 35 hours a week. They often receive fewer or no benefits from their employer, which results in a cost savings for the company. Additionally, these employees may be scheduled to meet particular peak needs of the organization. For example, clothing stores have higher night and weekend demand for staff than during the week daytime hours.

CONTRACT WORKERS.

Contract workers are employees who negotiate a relationship directly with an employer for a particular piece of work or for a specific time period. Contract workers generally are self-employed and determine their own work hours. These employees may be more productive than in-house employees because they avoid much of the bureaucracy of day-to-day organizational life.

COLLEGE INTERNS.

College interns are students who work for a company for either no salary or a reduced salary to gain work experience. These interns may work full-time or part-time, but they are likely to work for only a short time period, usually a semester or a summer. Interns are contingent workers because they provide a company with staffing flexibility. In addition, the company may choose to offer the intern full-time employment at the end of the internship.

TRENDS

After the fallout from downsizing during the 1980s, organizations have increasingly looked to various strategies for building more flexible workforces. Additionally, because of increasing and rapid changes in the world economy, including both competitive and regulatory forces, the ability to make low-cost staffing adjustments has become imperative. Factoring in the desire of many employees to have more flexible work arrangements, this has caused the contingent workforce to experience considerable growth during the 1990s and 2000s.

These variations in part-time, temporary, and/or contractual work arrangements certainly form a growing segment of the U.S. labor force. In 2001 the BLS estimated that contingent workers made up 24 percent of the American workforce. Approximately 22 million people worked part-time, 9 million were contract workers, and 1.2 million were temporary employees. This is a significant increase from BLS data in 1995, which estimated that between 2.7 and 6 million employees held contingent jobs. To some degree, contingent employment levels change due to unemployment levels. In a tight labor market, many employees find full-time core employment, but in times of higher unemployment there may be increases in contingent work.

wifi computing

Wi-Fi is the name of a wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide high-speed network and Internet connections. This Webopedia "Did You Know..." article explains Wi-Fi technology: how it works and misconceptions about Wireless Fidelity.

Wi-Fi is the name of a wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide high-speed network and Internet connections.

The Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization that owns the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) term specifically defines Wi-Fi as "wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards."

Initially, Wi-Fi was used in place of only the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, but the Wi-Fi Alliance has expanded the generic use of the Wi-Fi term to include any type of network or WLAN product based on any of the 802.11 standards, including 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, and so on, in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability.

How Does Wi-Fi Technology Work?

Wi-Fi works with no physical wired connection between sender and receiver by using radio frequency (RF) technology, a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation. When an RF current is supplied to an antenna, an electromagnetic field is created that then is able to propagate through space.

The cornerstone of any wireless network is an access point (AP). The primary job of an access point is to broadcast a wireless signal that computers can detect and "tune" into. In order to connect to an access point and join a wireless network, computers and devices must be equipped with wireless network adapters.

Wi-Fi is supported by many applications and devices including video game consoles, home networks, PDAs, mobile phones, major operating systems and other types of consumer electronics. Any products that are tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. For example, a user with a Wi-Fi Certified product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is also "Wi-Fi Certified". Products that pass this certification are required to carry an identifying seal on their packaging that states "Wi-Fi Certified" and indicates the radio frequency band used (2.5GHz for 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n, and 5GHz for 802.11a).

What are the basics of networking?

A network connects computers, mobile phones, peripherals, and even IoT devices. Switches, routers, and wireless access points are the essential networking basics. Through them, devices connected to your network can communicate with one another and with other networks, like the Internet.

Switches, routers, and wireless access points

Switches, routers, and wireless access points perform very different functions in a network.

Switches

Switches are the foundation of most business networks. A switch acts as a controller, connecting computers, printers, and servers to a network in a building or a campus.

Switches allow devices on your network to communicate with each other, as well as with other networks, creating a network of shared resources. Through information sharing and resource allocation, switches save money and increase productivity.

There are two basic types of switches to choose from as part of your networking basics: managed and unmanaged.

• An unmanaged switch works out of the box but can't be configured. Home-networking equipment typically offers unmanaged switches.
• A managed switch can be configured. You can monitor and adjust a managed switch locally or remotely, giving you greater control over network traffic and access.

• Routers

  Routers connect multiple networks together. They also connect computers on those networks to the Internet. Routers enable all networked computers to share a single Internet connection, which saves money.

  A router acts a dispatcher. It analyzes data being sent across a network, chooses the best route for data to travel, and sends it on its way.

  Routers connect your business to the world, protect information from security threats, and can even decide which computers receive priority over others.

  Beyond those basic networking functions, routers come with additional features to make networking easier or more secure. Depending on your needs, for example, you can choose a router with a firewall, a virtual private network (VPN), or an Internet Protocol (IP) communications system.

  Access points

  An access point* allows devices to connect to the wireless network without cables. A wireless network makes it easy to bring new devices online and provides flexible support to mobile workers.

  An access point acts like an amplifier for your network. While a router provides the bandwidth, an access point extends that bandwidth so that the network can support many devices, and those devices can access the network from farther away.

  But an access point does more than simply extend Wi-Fi. It can also give useful data about the devices on the network, provide proactive security, and serve many other practical purposes.

  *Access points support different IEEE standards. Each standard is an amendment that was ratified over time. The standards operate on varying frequencies, deliver different bandwidth, and support different numbers of channels.

What exactly is a router?

Another piece of computer equipment that confuses people is the router. Do you know what a router is or why you need one? Are you searching for one because a friend or salesman told you that you needed one? Or maybe you have one, but you don’t know what it does?

Calm down. It’s OK. I’m here.

Below what you’ll find is a very basic guide to routers. You’ll learn what they are, what they do, if and why you should get a router and how to shop for one.

What is a Router and What Does a Router Do?

A router is a small device that sits between your modem and computer. Most routers are about the same size and shape as a modem. The purpose of the router is to take the information from the modem and deliver it to your computer.

But that’s not the cool part.

What is cool about a router is that it’s able to take this information from several networks and deliver them to several computers. In other words, you can be on your desktop in the office and your kids can be on their computer in their room, and you can both use the internet at the same time using the same internet connection.

Why Should You Get a Router?

The first thing that I want to point out is that a router is not mandatory. You don’t have to have one, but there are several reasons why you might want to get one though.

I think the primary reason why you’d want to get a router is if you want to run two computers in your house, at the same time, without having to buy an internet connection (new ISP plan) for both.

Another reason to buy a router is so that you can operate a laptop wirelessly in your home. You’d want to make sure that the router you buy is setup for wireless (although I think most are, if not all) and that you have a wireless card, USB or wireless built into your laptop or computer.

Routers also add another level of security to your connection. Security wouldn’t be my sole reason for buying a router, but it’s definitely a good secondary reason or something that my tip the scale to “buy” if I was undecided.

Who has the best home Internet service?

High Speed Internet.com simplifies the search for the best Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your home or business. Enter your ZIP code, and we’ll show you which ISPs are available in your area. From there, you can easily compare speeds, features, customer reviews, expert ratings, and prices to find the ISP that works best for you. With over 1,200 internet providers in our database, you’re sure to find a good match.

Below you’ll find national internet service statistics, FAQs, and general provider information to help you in your search. Enter your ZIP code to get information specific to your area.

Make a more informed decision when selecting your ISP by reading our expert insights and customer reviews first.

View our expert ratings and reviews to compare how ISPs scored for customer satisfaction, speed, reliability, pricing, and customer support.

Read real reviews from real customers of ISPs in your area, and use their personal experience to inform your search.https://www.fieldengineer.com/blogs/what-is-wireless-lan

What are the 4 types of network?

Computer Network Types

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications.

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four types:

• LAN(Local Area Network)
• PAN(Personal Area Network)
• MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
• WAN(Wide Area Network)

LAN(Local Area Network)

• Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such as building, office.
• LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
• It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and ethernet cables.
• The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
• Local Area Network provides higher security.

PAN(Personal Area Network)

• Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters.
• Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use is known as Personal Area Network.
• Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the Personal Area Network.
• Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
• Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.
• There are two types of Personal Area Network:
  
  • Wired Personal Area Network
  • Wireless Personal Area Network
  Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area Network is developed by simply using wireless technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.
  Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the USB.
  

  Examples Of Personal Area Network:

  • Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a network that moves with a person. For example, a mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a person establishes a network connection and then creates a connection with another device to share the information.
  • Offline Network: An offline network can be created inside the home, so it is also known as a home network. A home network is designed to integrate the devices such as printers, computer, television but they are not connected to the internet.
  • Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a corporate network using a VPN

  ---

  MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

  • A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
  • Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
  • In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
  • The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL, etc.
  • It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).