Narrating the power of non-standard employment: The case of the Israeli public sector

Applying a critical discourse analysis approach, this study shows how the argument equating non-standard employment (NSE) with organizational efficiency gains dominance over the contesting argument that views NSE as reducing organizational efficiency. We interviewed 24 senior-level HR managers in the Israeli public sector, where NSE is used extensively, in order to shed light on the discursive order and the power struggle between these contesting arguments. Findings point to two story-lines that helped discredit the argument in which NSE reduces organizational efficiency: (1) a statement of loyalty to organizational efficiency, accompanied by a gesture of concern for employees in non-standard arrangements; and (2) subordinating an implied preference for eliminating NSE to organizational constraints.