Abstract: Temporary employment has continued to grow globally. Employers of labour have capitalized on the use of temporary workers to minimize cost and administrative complexity. Previous studies viewed temporary employment workers as homogeneous groups without focusing on the differences among temporary employees in Nigeria. This study, therefore, assesses the patterns of temporary employment in the food processing industry. Specifically, it examines how these categories of workers cope in the work environment, differences in treatment, economic benefits and opportunities for conversion to permanent workers. This study is anchored on work stress models and social comparison or exchange theories as it theoretical leanings to reflect the situations of workers in Nigeria. Qualitative Method was used to collect information for this study. A sample size of 40 respondents were chosen for In Depth Interviews (IDI) through snow ball method from fifteen casual workers, eight contract workers, six temporary workers, seven outsourced workers and four disengaged workers. The study revealed that the work environment has been most challenging for these categories of workers as they faced discrimination, sexual harassment, excess workload, poor wages, job insecurity, high fatigue, backaches and muscular pains amongst other. The study found that among the various categories of temporary employees the casual workers are the most degraded and stigmatized. It is hoped that government and employers of labour would put a stop to this unfair labour practices and more studies will further examine the dynamic of precarious work in other industries in future.