Sad but true comment on many work environments. I've been in places where the animosity towards consultants/contractors is great, whereas in other places it's hard to even know who's who.

I can understand the potential animosity towards contractors, but I don't see how an entrenched culture of mistrust and segregation helps deliver value. If you're bringing in outside personnel to help get a job done there is no benefit to treating them any differently than an employee. Any roadblocks you put in place not only affect the contractor's potential value to the organization but the organization itself.

On top of that consultants will talk amongst one another about good and bad places to work. In a tight economy they may not be choosy but you can bet that given the option they will work elsewhere.

It's up to the client's management to breed a culture of acceptance and (relevant) integration, especially on longer term engagements. Otherwise time and money are being wasted by the client.

That's the way Freddie Mac treated its contractors when I was there. It isn't "the law", nor do they have to. They do it because they don't want to get sued the way Microsoft did.

Quite funny, how things work. companies will trust contractors with their core business. but when it comes to petty things like stationary, cubes spaces and yes even chairs, folks make sure to remind u of being a Contractors .. :)