America has entered the age of the contingent or temporary worker, of the consultant and subcontractor, of the just-in-time work force – fluid, flexible, disposable. This is the future. Its message is this: You are on your own. For good (sometimes) and ill (often), the workers of the future will constantly have to sell their skills, invent new relationships with employers who must, themselves, change and adapt constantly in order to survive in a ruthless global market.
– “The Temping of America” – Time, 1993, Lance Morrow