Meet the new temporary workforce.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Fundamental changes in the American workforce are taking place, and they hold tremendous implications for employers and employees alike. According to an Annual Workforce Trends Study, commissioned by Yoh Services LLC, Philadelphia, Pa., 80% of employers expect the size of their nonemployee workforce (defined as consultants, independent contractors, temporary employees, and project teams) to stay the same or increase within the next year, even as the economy regains its footing.

This new, temporary workforce presents issues for employers who will need to manage, compensate, and motivate workers who no longer view themselves as employees committed to a single employer. At the same time, for employees, this new workforce ushers in an era of free agency, and holds vast implications for how they will build careers in a flexible work environment, where knowledge and skill trump seniority and security.

Employers' protracted reliance on a nonemployee workforce as the U.S. emerges from a severe recession is a marked change from...