The New American Workplace

This is the best business book I have read in a long time. The authors do an excellent job in providing a comprehensive picture of the state of the workplace in the US today. One conclusion the authors draw is that satisfying work is a basic human need that establishes individual identity and self-respect and lends order to life. Many important questions will be asked throughout the book. For example, if the United States wishes to continue to be the world's leading economic power, what workplace practices and public policies are required to ensure that it succeeds? The solution to this and other questions must serve both the well-being of employees and the effectiveness of their employing organizations in the belief that doing one without the other is not viable in the long run. What follows are notes I took of this essential book: Good work satisfies all three of the following fundamental needs (p. 8): 1. The need for the basic economic resources and security essential to lead good lives. 2. The need to do meaningful work and the opportunity to grow and develop as a person. 3. The need for supportive relationships. Jobs satisfying the requirements of one, or even two, of the above needs may not satisfy them all. For example, a job may pay well but, at the same time, be dull and unfulfilling. A truly fascinating job may pay poorly, and a well-paying, interesting job may be overseen by an abusive supervisor. All three needs must be satisfied before most people will say they have a good job. Research shows that satisfying the needs of Americans for good jobs is important, if not essential, for the prosperity, health and social well-being of the nation. The costs of an insufficient supply of good work include a declining standard of living, a lower quality of life, increased social conflict, and the loss of America's unique standing in the world as the leading economic power. Researchers found the following key themes in US companies (p. 14-18): 1. The US is suffering from insufficient creation of new 'good jobs.' 2. Workers today face a wider array of choices than ever before, choices concerning what career to pursue, how much and what form of education to obtain, where to work, when to change jobs and careers, and when, or if, to retire. 3. Today, most companies put the needs of shareholders above the needs of workers. 4. There in now increased tension between work and family life. Among lower-paid workers, the cause of this tension is that two parents increasingly need to work long hours to make ends meet. 5. The primary and secondary educational system in the United States is failing to provide the skills millions of workers need to escape minimum-wage and dead-end employment. 6. In terms of real wages, executives and technically skilled workers have fared spectacularly in recent years, and college graduates, in general, have fared well relative to the rest of the labor force. At the same time, the relative wages of blue-collar worke

In 1972-73, a survey was conducted to examine working conditions throughout the United States. THE NEW AMERICAN WORKPLACE brings that survey to the 21st century, examining all aspects of work and the American worker in today's global economy. In many industries, we were the international leader in the 1970s and 1980s, whereas now there is serious competition from many European and Asian countries. In the era of human capital, employee involvement, along with self-managing work teams, employee stock ownership, high worker-satisfaction levels and job enrichment are concepts that now drive many American businesses. "Americans today feel that they have more freedom and opportunities to learn on the job, and to do more meaningful work than they did in the 1970's." The work Americans do now tends to be more "enriched, challenging, and controlled by employees." Broken into five parts --- the introduction, Changes in the American Workplace, Consequences for the American Worker, Choices and Future Directions, and Conclusions --- THE NEW AMERICAN WORKPLACE examines the cultural, economic and global attitudes in America's work environment today. Employee benefit costs have risen to a staggering 42% of payroll costs. The costs of jobs held by employees versus contract workers, independent contractors, outsourced and temporary workers must be a factor in the cost of a company's product or service. New employment contracts and performance-based compensation with the growth-in-knowledge work equals skill-based pay. Careers, work/life balance, employment-based legislation (such as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993), workplace health and safety, and stress are examined in detail, as well as job and life satisfaction. Performance pressures sometimes lead to ethical dilemmas at work. "Given the changes in the nature of organizations, work, and reward systems...it is hardly surprising that Americans feel they have to work harder and faster." Union membership fell to 12% in the American workforce, as team environments and total quality initiatives gave workers more freedom, autonomy and voice in the work they do. "If unions improve their products and more effectively address the real concerns of workers in the future, they might be able to regain some of their lost membership and the strength of their voice, but to do so they will need to rethink their positions and roles relating to such issues as education and training the individualization of work relationships, and, especially, cooperation, with regards to improving business performance." Other areas of concern include worker training as it relates to transferable skills, the lack of equity between large corporation CEOs and their minimum-wage workers, average executive compensation versus the performance and profit of the company, a sense of community in the workplace, the movement to understand and communicate ethics in the workplace, the economic impact of employee behavior on organizational per

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Obviously, a great deal has (and has not) happened in what O'Toole and Lawler characterize as America's "crazy-quilt world of work" since 1972 when a task force was created by then Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Elliott L. Richardson, to evaluate the state of working conditions in the United States. A year later, the task force presented its report, Work in America. That was 33 years ago. In this volume, O'Toole and Lawler rigorously examine "some clearly identifiable developments" which help to explain what has happened in the recent past, and, what is likely to happen in the future. They began their analysis by inquiring about the values and needs of American workers. "In a democracy, it is appropriate to begin from the perspective of the aspirations of the citizenry." Over time, they also examined various ways in which American workers aresupervised. They identified and discuss three "emerging management models that are becoming dominant." What we have in this volume is what O'Toole and Lawler learned from their extensive as well as intensive research. While completing it, they identified several key themes: Insufficient creation of "good jobs" Increased choice and risk Increased influence of competitive and economic drivers Increased tension between work and family life Mismatch between skills and business needs Increased social stratification based largely on educational attainment Changing nature of careers Reduction in community and commitment Shortcomings of the healthcare system The boomer demographic imperative Unrealized opportunities to make more effective use of human capital Please go back and re-read this list. Now that you have done so, ask this question: "How many of these themes are relevant to me and to my own situation?" Chances are, many (if not most) of them are. What to do? O'Toole and Lawler assert that "the greatest opportunity for the improvement of work in America" exists in the choices that business executives make relating to working conditions. At this point, many of them may well protest that they have no choice but to match the worst employment practices of their competitors. In this volume, O'Toole and Lawler document numerous example of business leaders "who have found productive alternatives to the standard workplace practices in their industries and created significant advantages in the process." Of special interest to me is what O'Toole and Lawler learned when they examined companies in which executives have more choices than commonly assumed in terms of creating and sustaining workplace practices "that serve the multiple needs of their various constituencies. They include diverse companies such as Alcoa, Costco, WL Gore, Harley-Davidson, Nucor, SRC Holdings, and Southwest Airlines. It is no coincidence that many of the companies on Fortune magazine's annual list of those most admired reappear on the annual list of those most profitable. They serve the three deepest needs of workers: fin

This book presents a fascinating, highly informative and clearly written portrait of the diverse ways in which Americans now work, how they think about their work - and why and how their work and their relationship to it has changed over the last three decades. Its strength lies in its comprehensiveness and balance, I strongly recommend to anyone interested in the dynamics of the American workplace.