Consequences of Outsourcing Strategies On Employee Quality of Work Life, Attitudes, and Performance

Abstract

Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities
that are usually handled by internal staff and resources. The consequences of implementing
outsourcing strategies in an industrial setting were studied using a field
study. This study was designed to explore both the financial as well as the human
aspects of outsourcing activities. The attitudinal results of this research indicated
that the outsourcing strategies had a negative impact on the perceived quality of
work-life dimensions. The performance results presented here provide, at best, circumspect
support for the claims of outsourcing proponents that the technique improves
participants' performance and productivity. Although outsourcing can lead
to certain gains for the organization, there are definitely human costs to be taken
into account, and they should be considered as major factors contributing to the
outsourcing debate, not just the financial aspects of organizations' decisions.