Hi folks,
An interesting point is raised here - it really depends on which sections of the workforce you refer to. I would think due to the nature of the work involved, contract posts are applicable for certain types of work, while longer term work, presumably should attract longer term or permanent contracts (aka jobs for life)
For example, in the public sector it's reasonable to see middle and (relatively) senior management in a long term way as their bosses (the top civil servants and ministers) are effectively on contracts. You do need some degree of consistency in order to ensure progression.
As to Ohpinchy's point namely,
"My gut feeling on this one would be that its a bad thing - if an employee is told (or the environment leaves them without much doubt) that they have a job for life, there is a very real risk that they will lose their competitive drive and their skills may become stagnant if they are not challenged. "
The answer is fairly simple, move them around - and in fairness the public sector do this, if nothing else it does boost one chance's of promotion!!
I note that in the UK Civil Service, if you join one Department, you are likely to be there for the duration - mind you I found that in a lot of cases, I found their level of expertise to be excellent, so there might be something to that approach too!
I suppose, given the numbers there would also be economies of scale at play too.
Cheers,
OpusnBill