The fact that contractors move from one job to another makes for weaker social relationships and less organizational commitment. This tends to put contractors under greater job stress. Managers should constantly be aware of the stress contractors can feel and offer to provide social support in the form of active listening and empathizing with issues that may negatively affect the contractor's performance. Both the manager and the contractor should clearly understand that, since the job is temporary, both parties have the responsibility to capture the contractor's acquired project knowledge and experience before it inevitably walks out the door. Maintaining and submitting a personal log or completing a structured reporting form on a weekly basis can do this very effectively.
Negative communications are an everyday part of corporate life.
Contractor performance, however, tends to be more sensitive to negative communication than employee performance. In fact, if a regular employee and a contractor share negative job attitudes, it is very possible that the contractor's personal productivity will drop more than the regular employee's. Managers should hold frequent meetings and get personal updates from the contractor to be sure that negative communication is kept at a minimum. There are two primary aspects of motivation that you should consider when hiring a contract worker. The first is the contractor's independence and the second is the contractor's attitude toward work.