How to optimally organise temporary jobs using online platforms

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and the Universities of Basel and Fribourg investigated how platform-based temporary work is changing everyday nursing care in Swiss hospitals. The focus was on its impact on the quality of care, team dynamics, job satisfaction and the legal conditions.

The researchers analysed data from an online placement platform and quality data from hospitals. They conducted surveys among temporary and permanent nursing staff and gathered perspectives from hospital management. They also observed teams directly at work in order to identify differences in communication and collaboration. The current legal situation regarding platform work was also analysed from a legal perspective.

A new working trend has established itself in the last decade: crowd working. This is a form of temporary work in which skilled workers and companies connect via online platforms for temporary assignments. Platform-based temporary work promises more flexibility for both employees and institutions. However, little is known about the concrete effects of this form of work.

Until now, research on temporary work has mainly focussed on low-skilled workers. This project was the first to systematically analyse the platform-based temporary work of nursing staff in Swiss hospitals. The aim was to gain a comprehensive picture of this new form of work – at the individual, organisational and systemic levels.

The focus was on the following questions:

1. How do digital placement platforms for temporary work operate, and what impact do they have on the working and living environments of the nursing professionals employed?
2. How does this form of work change the organisation, processes and quality of nursing care in hospitals?
3. To what extent does platform-based temporary work alleviate the shortage of skilled labour in Switzerland?
4. What legal and regulatory revisions are necessary to create fair and safe framework conditions for everyone involved?

The project provides a sound foundation for addressing platform-based temporary work in the Swiss healthcare system. It shows how this new form of work can be sensibly regulated and offers specific recommendations – both for hospitals and care organisations as well as for temporarily employed care professionals. In addition, a concept has been developed to systematically observe and analyse the further development of this form of work.

Temporary work via digital platforms has emerged in the healthcare sector. The research team was able to show that this form of work is already widely used in Swiss hospitals – albeit in very different configurations. Some hospitals rely primarily on internal staff pools, others on external platforms. Temporary work is mostly used to supplement staffing levels and to reduce bottlenecks rather than as a replacement for permanent positions.

Three main takeaways

1. Individual level (micro)

There is no difference in general job satisfaction between temporarily and permanently employed care professionals. Temporary carers work on average 12 shifts per year and in approximately three different institutions per year. The success rate of getting jobs via the platforms is very high at over 80%.

2. Organisational level (meso):

Online platforms reduce the administrative burden of planning and allocating flexible labour. Ideally, pool models should be used for effective team allocation, or the same temporary workers should be booked multiple times. Furthermore, organisations should set up clearly standardised processes.

3. System level (macro):

Digital platforms facilitate the flexible allocation of care professionals, and the associated opportunities for a wide variety of flexible working models help to alleviate the care shortage in Switzerland. A suitable legal framework is required for this form of work to reach its potential. Overly restrictive regulations could hinder the necessary flexibility.

Crowd Working in der Schweiz (CroWiS)- eine interdisziplinäre Analyse am Beispiel von Temporärkräften in der Pflege