Temporary Agency Work in Elderly Care in Germany : A qualitative study of deciding factors and their significance for organizations.

Abstract: Over the last two decades, more and more elderly care nurses, specialists and untrained, have chosen to go into temporary agency work rather than insitutionalized care. This qualitative study investigated the factors that attract elderly care nurses to temporary employment and possible adjustments organizations can make, to enhance their competitiveness over agencies. A structured literature review and the Job Demand-Resource Theory were used as the backdrop for qualitative interviews with temporary agency nurses, temporary agents and leaders of elderly care homes. The factors that attract elderly care nurses in Germany to temporary agency work are expectations of greater flexibility, higher salaries and a different balance of demands and resources. The expected flexibilities are however limited and higher salaries arequestionable. Temporary agency nurses are engaging in a form of job crafting behavior that has larger implications for the field. Organizations might enhance their competitiveness with changes to internal structures, in large part changes to internal communication, and external changes the organizations might support