Over half (55%) of office-based workers in temporary roles pre-pandemic said they were now looking for permanent positions, according to a survey from recruitment firm Office Angels.
Sixty-one per cent of women said they wanted to move to a permanent role, compared with 53% of men.
Women are disproportionately affected by the economic fallout of the crisis, with mothers in particular more likely to bear the brunt of redundancy than fathers.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), employees under the age of 25 years’ old will be the hardest hit by the crisis as they are approximately two and a half times as likely to work in a sector that has been shut down compared to employees of other ages.
Prior to the pandemic, the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) also predicted that entry-level recruitment would already stagnate this year.
The Office Angels survey also found 60% of temporary workers that fall within the Generation Z working age bracket (16 to 25-year-olds) were the most keen to enter the job market on a more permanent basis.
The balance was tipped in the opposite direction when considering temporary workers in Generation X and Baby Boomer categories.
Fifty-one per cent of workers aged 45 to 54-years-old (Gen X) said they would like to continue temporary contracts post-pandemic, and 57% of Baby Boomers, aged 55-years-old and above, agreed.
Kate Garbett, head of Office Angels, said there is a degree of uncertainty in the job market at present for temporary workers.
“Companies will need to reposition how they view temporary workers if they are to retain and attract the best of this essential talent.
“Post COVID-19, greater focus will need to be placed on training and the benefits that companies can offer its temporary workforce.”
Office Angels’ survey is based on the opinion of 500 office-based temporary workers in the UK.
