Love the Work, Hate the Job: Why America's Best Workers Are Unhappier Than Ever
Labor writer Kusnet focuses on four Seattle-area companies—Microsoft, Boeing, Kaiser Aluminum, and Northwest Hospital—as microcosms of growing national discontent among workers, both white- and blue-collar. He begins with information about the protests at the 2000 World Trade Organization Conference in Seattle, a lightning rod for those fearing diminished pay and benefits and job loss due to outsourcing and other global-economy realities. Weiner narrates in tones that convey shared pain and empathy for employees, and listeners feel the workers’ frustrations. Managers are pressured by “bean counters” who stipulate bottom-line increases. The trade-off is compromising our most significant competitive edge: quality. Weiner’s voice deepens to resonate with sincerity and grief at the loss of worker satisfaction, dignity, autonomy, and self-esteem in workplaces shortsightedly focusing on short-term numbers rather than jobs well done. --Whitney Scott--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.