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

Abstract

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