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The purpose of this study is to identify temporary workers' (temps') expected conditions for learning when they are leased to a client company (CC) for numerical flexibility.

The analysis is based on a phenomenological approach containing 121 transcribed interviews with employees and managers who were active in more than 10 CCs' in seven industries and from seven temporary work agencies.

One important finding is that the CC expects temps not to learn something about the surrounding organization, but to limit themselves only to the concrete tasks assigned to them. Another is that temps' opportunities to influence organizational conditions in the CCs seem to be cut off in a strategic way.

Results are valid for interviewees' expressed thoughts and expectations about temps' workplace learning, not about an actual separation between knowledge and actions in the working conditions.

CCs associate temps with learning backgrounds that allow them to perform subordinate tasks, such as routine, instructional, or regulatory duties. They associate regular staff with more advanced learning backgrounds and tasks more directly related to occupation and workplace. CCs could benefit from accepting the exchange of knowledge and competence between temps and the company, rather than neglecting it.

The originality of this paper lies in its contribution to the relatively unexplored topic of workplace learning and leaders and employees' expectations of temps.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexity of manpower management in temporary work agencies (TWA). The aim is to investigate to which extent the managers reflects the features of boundary spanners.

The results come from a case study where manpower managers at one of the biggest TWAs in Sweden are interviewed.

TWAs' boundary‐spanning managers mediate between the opinions of the clients, the TWAs, and the individual temps as well as balancing between trust and risk. The findings reveal the relevance of the managers' application of a flexible and a dialectical approach when delivering service to clients, the TWA and the temps. This flexible approach means being able to simultaneously embrace these three perspectives of interests. A dialectical approach involves being able to: systematically balance between the opposing pair of trust and risk and search for the most functional option and not relate others' opinions to one's own personal values.

The interview data come from a case study at only one TWA and it is collected in a limited number of interview subjects.

The results can provide useful information for recruiters of manpower managers in a TWA when choosing staff members that can enhance strategic management of temps. The results can also be of assistance for managers when interacting with both customers and temps.

The paper contributes to the literature by an analysis of the complex working conditions under which manpower managers in TWAs work.