Non-Regular Employment Benefits

However, it would be unwise to assume that non-regular employment is without its benefits. The divide between the two employment types accrues benefits to both the company and the worker. We will first examine the benefits accrued to the company. In the companies surveyed by Asao, some of the reasons for choosing non-regular employment was that it helped to reduce cost, allowed for flexibility as well as enable companies to assess potential regular employees.

First and foremost, the main benefit that is gained by the company would be the ability reduce their labour costs. There is a tendency for non-regular workers to be earning less wages as compared to their regular peers. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2008, cited in Hiroko et al. 2011), 40% of non-regular workers earned less than 100 000 yen monthly 2008, 39% of regular employees earned 200 000- 300 000 yen monthly in 2008. Also, part-time workers were only given 40% of the wages of regular workers in 2003 (Jones, 2007). Therefore, by increasing the proportion of non-regular workers, there is a tendency for companies to be able

For part-time workers, the flexibility of working hours as compared to their regular workers counterparts increases the incentive for them to seek non-regular employment (Asao, 2011). This helps to maintain work-life balance, especially for full time housewives. A common example would be in the supermarkets, where housewives part-time the morning and afternoon (when their kids and husbands are not home) and students work night time when they do not have school. (Keizer, 2010: 130) As a result, non-regular employment allows them the flexibility to choose their hours and suit their individual time constraints. Hence, this allows certain groups of people to start working increase in