Permanently Temporary

They are a motley crew young people waiting for a break, women with time consuming family commitments, healthy retirees with domain expertise, people of all ages unwilling to be tied down to a full time job, and more. Some work part time, some full time; some bring in skills outside the core competencies of the companies that employ them, some supplement the skills; some are employed through staffing companies, some are lone operators. What they all have in common is that they are not listed on the roll of employees of the companies they work at.

They comprise the flexi staffing industry which is rapidly growing across the world, including India. "Flexi employment in India is currently a $5 billion market and expected to grow to $9 billion in the next five years," says Sandesh Kangod, Co founder of staffing company Workflexi. The market size makes India world's third largest employer of flexi staff, after the US and China, but penetration of flexi