Alternative Work Arrangements Lindsey D. Cameron, Lyndon Garrett, Gretchen Spreitzer LAST MODIFIED: 27 FEBRUARY 2019 DOI: 10.1093/OBO/97801998467400155 Introduction The literature on alternative work arrangements is broad, spanning multiple disciplines, including economics, sociology, information sciences, management, and organizational psychology. Alternative work arrangements are loosely defined as jobs that occur outside of a traditional employment context with the expectation of a longterm employment contract. Given the breadth of the topic this review limits its scope to alternative work arrangements in the United States, unless otherwise noted. Taken together, the literature broadly explores the social, economic, and legal trends influencing the growth of alternative workplace arrangements and the different configurations within the workplace. Growth of Alternative Work Arrangements In organizational scholarship, work has typically been portrayed in terms of a fulltime, regular employment model, “where work is performed on a fixed schedule, at the firm’s place of business under the firm’s control and with mutual expectation of continued employment” (Kalleberg, et al. 2000). In the United States today, a smaller percentage of the labor force works in fulltime jobs for a particular employer at the employer’s place of work. Polivka 1996 claims the first comprehensive measure of contingent workers in the United States in 1995, estimating as many as six million contingent workers, or 4.9 percent of the US workforce. Using a broader definition of nonstandard employment, including oncall work, independent contractors, temp work, parttime work for a regular employer, and any selfemployment, Kalleberg, et al. 2000 estimated that 31 percent of American adults in 1995 were in some type of nonstandard employment. Focusing on remote work, Mateyka, et al. 2012 reported that the percentage of US workers who worked at least one day each week at home increased from 7 percent in 1997 to 9.5 percent in 2010, and those who work exclusively from home increased from 4.8 percent to 6.6 percent. Recent estimates of US workers in alternative work arrangements range from 10.1 percent (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018) to 15.8 percent (Katz and Krueger 2016). Katz and Krueger 2016 concludes that almost all of the net employment growth in the US occurred in nonstandard work arrangements. In addition, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2018 suggests that increasingly individuals are employed but also doing contingent work in side hustles or gig work. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Department of Labor, Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements, 2018. Government database of contemporary workforce trends. Kalleberg, A. L., B. F. Reskin, and K. Hudson. “Bad Jobs in America: Standard and Nonstandard Employment Relations and Job Quality in the United States.” American Sociological Review 65.2 (2000): 256–278. Using data from the 1995 Current Population Survey, this article explores the extent to which nonstandard employment is characterized by certain “bad job” characteristics, namely low pay, no health insurance, and no pension benefits. They find that 31 percent of American adults are in some type of nonstandard employment (oncall work, contract work, selfemployment, parttime). They also find that nonstandard work strongly increases likelihood of having these bad job characteristics.