EVEN IN countries like Japan, where the concept of a job for life was deeply engrained in the national psyche, there has been a sea change in the nature of employment.

The last decade saw the demise of the lifetime employment model, and the rise of a phenomenon known as "freeta". Millions of young Japanese people (freeters) opted not to join the rat race or take permanent full-time jobs, and instead worked in short-term, part-time jobs while pursuing their dream career or simply trying to live life to the fullest.

A similar shift has been evident in Ireland. In recent years many people threw off the shackles of their humdrum nine-to-five existence in favour of freedom, diversity and mobility, choosing to move jobs regularly or work on a contract, freelance or consultancy basis.

In industries such as IT, the financial reward for this modus operandi was substantial, so substantial in fact that some contractors could afford to take three or four months off a year. Flexibility, mobility and a search for self-fulfilment were the order of the day.

"Over the 20 years that I've worked in recruitment, I've seen the statistics around the numbers of jobs that people have in their career going up to five, seven jobs, and the average length of stay going down to seven, five, four years, so I think the principle of permanency has changed," says Paul Carroll of recruitment firm CPL, "and what people regard as permanency has changed."

CPL works with a large community of contractors, particularly in the IT and pharmaceutical fields.

"These are guys whose world revolves around selling their services at a price and often it's a lifestyle choice that they've made. They are professional contractors," he says.

With close to full employment in the Irish economy, employers had little choice but to accommodate people who wanted more flexible working arrangements. But now that the downturn has taken hold, the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction.

A survey carried out in Japan earlier this year found that increasing numbers of people now regard the freeta phenomenon as "an unstable working environment", and there is a growing desire for stability. The same trend is showing up here. Lofty notions of finding a job with meaning are being replaced with far more basic motivations like paying the bills.

Marcus Kelly of FK International has noticed that instead of worrying about job satisfaction or their next bonus, people in permanent pensionable positions have become much more appreciative of simply having a good job.

Job seekers are now looking for stability and "a job that will ride them through the recession", says Frank Collins, president of the National Recruitment Federation.

"My gut feeling is you will suddenly find Irish people who previously wouldn't have done certain jobs, willing to do them now," he adds.

He has already noticed that IT contractors are taking permanent jobs if they can get them. "Many of them are choosing to look for the security of the permanent job."

Contract work is no longer a lifestyle choice. According to Maireád Fleming, a director at Brightwater Recruitment, people are taking interim roles out of necessity, for example if they have been made redundant and can't find a permanent position.

Contract and temporary workers tended to be the first in the line of fire when companies made cutbacks this year. After that, employers put a freeze on recruiting permanent staff, and in some cases reduced their permanent headcount. Both Fleming and Kelly predict that the next development will be a shift towards offering contract and interim roles again.

"A lot of the small and medium sized firms . . . don't have any flesh left," explains Fleming.

"So if an extra bit of work comes in or a new client comes on board, they're going to have to bring somebody in to cover that workload, and they might still be a little bit nervous to commit to the permanent headcount, so that's where your temp and contract staff come in."

From the recruitment industry's point of view, it's easier to fill these types of roles. "From our perspective, interim roles are probably easier to move on quickly," says Mr Kelly. "[With] the permanent roles there are a lot more checks and balances."

For companies taking on interim workers, it's a good idea to offer a completion bonus. This acts as an incentive to the individual to see out the full term of their contract, (be it three months, six months etc), rather than leaving as soon as they get a better offer.

There may be no such thing as a guaranteed job for life anymore, but the days of shunning security as a lifestyle choice are also over. At least for now.