ABSTRACT
This chapter explores aspects of nonstandard work in federal agencies, including trends over time and the factors driving their use, such as fluctuations in agency headcount, personnel costs and type of functions performed by agencies. Interest in nonstandard working arrangements (NSWAs) is rooted in succession planning concerns as federal retirement projections attract more and more attention. The age distribution of the federal workforce illustrates clearly the potential for retirement waves to reduce employment abruptly and leave a vacuum of leadership and institutional knowledge. Plotting this distribution along those in other sectors shows that these challenges are unique to federal personnel managers. The chapter investigates the phenomenon that elicits such strong reactions and provides insight on contingent arrangements to policymakers and federal personnel managers. The nature of federal government services differs from that of the private sector, but a need for part-time, seasonal and temporary work exists in government all the same.
