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Hej lättja : om konsten och vikten av att göra minsta möjliga på jobbet
"Om människor tyckte om att arbeta skulle de göra det gratis", skriver Corinne Maier i Hej lättja (Bonjour Paresse). Hennes roliga och utmanande "handbok i överlevnad i arbetslivet" har blivit en storsäljare i Frankrike. Maier hävdar bestämt att stora företag suger musten ur sina tjänstemän utan att ge dem någon möjlighet till utveckling. Det är dags för de anställda att utnyttja företagen - och bästa sättet är att göra ingenting! Inte ta sig an ansvarsfyllda poster; inte försöka ändra på systemet (det är ändå lönlöst); alltid behandla frilansare, vikarier och praktikanter väl (de är de enda som arbetar, så utan dem klarar man sig inte). Och genom att alltid bära en pärm under armen och ta med sig papper hem på kvällen skapar man en image av att vara "busy". En anti-karriärbok att känna igen sig i, roas och "demoraliseras" av. Corinne Maier är nationalekonom och författare. Hon arbetar deltid som forskare på det statligt ägda franska elbolaget EDF och ägnar övrig tid åt psykoanalys och att skriva. Detta är hennes sjunde bok och den är under översättning till över femton språk.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
32 people are currently reading
557 people want to read
About the author
Corinne Maier
40 books33 followersCorinne Maier est psychanalyste à Bruxelles et à Paris et essayiste.
Ses essais s'attaquent au travail, à la famille et à la patrie. Plusieurs de ses publications se jouent de la langue de bois contemporaine qui uniformise les discours. Psychanalyste, économiste, sociologue et historienne, elle est l'auteur de livres fortement inspirés par Jacques Lacan, Roland Barthes et Michel Foucault. Elle est surnommée «l'héroïne de la contre-culture » par le New York Times1 depuis le succès mondial de l'un de ses ouvrages, Bonjour Paresse (trente traductions). Un autre de ses livres, No Kid, qui prend la forme d'un manifeste anti-nataliste, a été traduit en douze langues. Ses ouvrages font l'objet de nombreuses traductions.
Ses essais s'attaquent au travail, à la famille et à la patrie. Plusieurs de ses publications se jouent de la langue de bois contemporaine qui uniformise les discours. Psychanalyste, économiste, sociologue et historienne, elle est l'auteur de livres fortement inspirés par Jacques Lacan, Roland Barthes et Michel Foucault. Elle est surnommée «l'héroïne de la contre-culture » par le New York Times1 depuis le succès mondial de l'un de ses ouvrages, Bonjour Paresse (trente traductions). Un autre de ses livres, No Kid, qui prend la forme d'un manifeste anti-nataliste, a été traduit en douze langues. Ses ouvrages font l'objet de nombreuses traductions.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 30, 2012
My expectations were not really high, but I at least thought that I would have to chuckle sometimes remembering my own, not hyper-successful, time in a big corporate enterprise. Maybe the book would have been funnier and wittier in French, especially regarding the linguistic peculiarities of corporate language, even though they seem to be the same all over the world.
What's annoying: The author is trying to come across as a kind of cynical intellectual observer, but in the end she seems to be rather bitter and nagging, completely lacking humour in the endless polemic against the modern office world which gets as repetitve and senseless in the end as the business reality she's attacking.
I absolutely see her point, but a rant without some solution is just pointless and should be done in a shorter form - maybe a pamphlet, an article? A whole book, built up like a thesis, but with no real cientific background, is just a waste of time.
What's annoying: The author is trying to come across as a kind of cynical intellectual observer, but in the end she seems to be rather bitter and nagging, completely lacking humour in the endless polemic against the modern office world which gets as repetitve and senseless in the end as the business reality she's attacking.
I absolutely see her point, but a rant without some solution is just pointless and should be done in a shorter form - maybe a pamphlet, an article? A whole book, built up like a thesis, but with no real cientific background, is just a waste of time.
May 3, 2008
I guess I've never actually finished this book--too lazy!--but I pick it up from time to time to read a chapter and chuckle over its (rather bitter, rather cynical, and, thus, rather up my alley) points--
"Never, under any circumstances, accept a position of responsibility. Additional aggravation is never worth a few extra bucks a week."
"[Work] is not a place for self-fulfillment. If it were, you would know it."
"You will not be judged by how well you work but by how well you conform."
I'm not saying I completely agree, nor am I saying I completely disagree. What I am saying is I wish I were less of a conformist. Onward to being the most downwardly mobile person in America . . .
"Never, under any circumstances, accept a position of responsibility. Additional aggravation is never worth a few extra bucks a week."
"[Work] is not a place for self-fulfillment. If it were, you would know it."
"You will not be judged by how well you work but by how well you conform."
I'm not saying I completely agree, nor am I saying I completely disagree. What I am saying is I wish I were less of a conformist. Onward to being the most downwardly mobile person in America . . .
April 5, 2021
Estimados lectores, ante todo quiero resaltar el pequeño eslogan incluido en la portada del libro: "El libro que está cambiando el mundo". ¡JA! Nos encontramos ante un pequeño ensayo, sin muchas pretensiones, escrito a la carrera y que impreso en letra normal no llegaría a las 80 páginas. En él la autora hace un somerísimo retrato de la cultura empresarial francesa y de cómo está claro (para ella) que el mundo no debería funcionar así. Propone "sabotear" el sistema convirtiéndonos en vagos, escurrebultos e impresentables para trabajar lo mínimo sin que nos echen. Y ya está. No hay nada más en este libro. Tardé exactamente una hora en leérmelo, y me dejó tan frío como el folleto turístico que tenía al lado. Si no fuera porque habla de la empresa, en lugar del instituto, podría parecer que lo ha escrito un chiquillo de bachillerato. Eso sí, entretiene un rato, no vayan a pensar que es una porquería. Pero lo venden como el libro seminal de la nueva cultura empresarial que dominará el mundo y no es más que un ensayito. No piquen. Mi nota: Corto, estrecho y poco profundo.
October 1, 2011
The other day, a friend of mine mentioned overhearing two co-workers gripe about another woman (surprisingly, not my friend) who sat with a “sour look” on her face the entire time they were at a team lunch — and this is what I don’t get: there are a surprising number of office drones out there who act like we’re at work to make friends and have a good time…and these aren’t even people who do meaningful, important work all day. (I mean, sure, some of us are delusional enough to believe that we do, but unless you’re working in healthcare or emergency services or in the developing world to end poverty/hunger/war/refugees/modern day slavery then chances are…your little cubicle job ultimately doesn’t equate to much of anything.)
At the risk of sounding like a total curmudgeon (or maybe I’m past this point), I have zero interest in having drinks with people after work because the nano second the company stops paying me for the day, I’m outta there.
Corinne Maier, who wrote “Hello Laziness,” describes having the nerve to voice this fact:
“Once, in the middle of a meeting on motivation, I dared to say that the only reason I came to work was to earn my crust; fifteen seconds of total silence followed, and everyone looked embarrassed. ‘Work’ derives from an instrument of torture — in French (travail), at any rate — but it’s still de rigueur to declare that you work because you are interested in your job. If you were being racked for hours on end by a merciless torturer, you wouldn’t say anything different.” (p.30)
See…there’s a reason why the Financial Times claimed that, if you read this book, you’ll automatically exclaim, “Oh my God, I work at the same company!”
I’m not going to get into a lengthy bitch-fest about work here because…well, it’d be incredibly stupid to do so.
Instead, I offer up some gems from Maier’s book and leave with the recommendation to pick up a copy:
“…it’s just not nice to be so unhelpful, to leave work as soon as the day’s task is done, not to go to the Christmas party, not to contribute to Mrs. Whatsit’s retirement present…to bring a packed lunch when everyone else eats at the canteen…People who behave like this are the pariahs of the office, because a level of sociability is demanded — lunchtime drinks, in-jokes, hypocritical kisses on the cheeks. You have to pretend to go along with it all, on pain of exclusion.” (p.11)
“‘Business culture’ is an oxymoron, a figure of speech that puts together two contradictory words…it creates an artificial sense of identity and belonging…This mini-patriotism is a dense mass of stale-smelling habits, aptitudes and oddities of dress and behavior, which verge on caricature. Rewritten by the management, it becomes official history, with its own heroes and festivals to motivate the worker and encourage identification with the company, unified and indivisible. It manifests itself in an orgy of pointless seminars, unwearable T-shirts, badges (yes, they still exist) and so-called motivational slogans.” (p.55)
At the risk of sounding like a total curmudgeon (or maybe I’m past this point), I have zero interest in having drinks with people after work because the nano second the company stops paying me for the day, I’m outta there.
Corinne Maier, who wrote “Hello Laziness,” describes having the nerve to voice this fact:
“Once, in the middle of a meeting on motivation, I dared to say that the only reason I came to work was to earn my crust; fifteen seconds of total silence followed, and everyone looked embarrassed. ‘Work’ derives from an instrument of torture — in French (travail), at any rate — but it’s still de rigueur to declare that you work because you are interested in your job. If you were being racked for hours on end by a merciless torturer, you wouldn’t say anything different.” (p.30)
See…there’s a reason why the Financial Times claimed that, if you read this book, you’ll automatically exclaim, “Oh my God, I work at the same company!”
I’m not going to get into a lengthy bitch-fest about work here because…well, it’d be incredibly stupid to do so.
Instead, I offer up some gems from Maier’s book and leave with the recommendation to pick up a copy:
“…it’s just not nice to be so unhelpful, to leave work as soon as the day’s task is done, not to go to the Christmas party, not to contribute to Mrs. Whatsit’s retirement present…to bring a packed lunch when everyone else eats at the canteen…People who behave like this are the pariahs of the office, because a level of sociability is demanded — lunchtime drinks, in-jokes, hypocritical kisses on the cheeks. You have to pretend to go along with it all, on pain of exclusion.” (p.11)
“‘Business culture’ is an oxymoron, a figure of speech that puts together two contradictory words…it creates an artificial sense of identity and belonging…This mini-patriotism is a dense mass of stale-smelling habits, aptitudes and oddities of dress and behavior, which verge on caricature. Rewritten by the management, it becomes official history, with its own heroes and festivals to motivate the worker and encourage identification with the company, unified and indivisible. It manifests itself in an orgy of pointless seminars, unwearable T-shirts, badges (yes, they still exist) and so-called motivational slogans.” (p.55)
January 22, 2008
Things must be really bleak in France. Maybe in a country where 1 in 4 work for the government this rant of a book makes sense. Written by an economist at state-owned French utility, Electricité de France, this book rails against corporate conformity and mindless drudgery. I had to put the book down halfway through when I felt like i was stuck in a conversation with the kind of person who won't leave you alone until they convince you that your life just sucks. Sometimes it's better to just say "Au revoir" and hit the road.
April 4, 2014
This book may have been intended to be funny, but it simply depressed me. That's probably my own fault for not liking what I see in the mirror--I play the role of the middle manager for whom she possesses such contempt. C'est la vie. I will lie in the bed I've made until I can figure out the next step--with absolutely no help from Corinne Maier and this ridiculous book.
January 22, 2015
This was much more stereotypically French pseudo-intellectual than I'd hoped. Maier likes to quote Lacan and Foucault for no other reason than to let you know she's read Lacan and Foucault, and she takes 120 pages of a 150 page book to get to the point. And her point is a fairly obvious one: offices suck, so stop giving a shit about your work because they certainly don't care about you.
As for the promised strategies and tips for getting away with doing little or nothing at work? The only concrete examples she offers are quotations from the Dilbert comic strip...
As for the promised strategies and tips for getting away with doing little or nothing at work? The only concrete examples she offers are quotations from the Dilbert comic strip...
January 10, 2011
I think everyone should read this! No matter your view..
I can not help but to think of the differences between Edith Wharton (Having just finished The House of Mirth) and Corinne Miller. The differences in 100 hears, yet the amazing similarities concerning women in the workplace and views about women in general.
In some ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We just wear different clothing.
Interesting. All just really interesting. Food to ponder.
I can not help but to think of the differences between Edith Wharton (Having just finished The House of Mirth) and Corinne Miller. The differences in 100 hears, yet the amazing similarities concerning women in the workplace and views about women in general.
In some ways, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We just wear different clothing.
Interesting. All just really interesting. Food to ponder.
October 23, 2023
Cette lecture montre que l’Autrice est une experte de l’entreprise qu’elle connaît bien et elle met le doigt sur ce qui fait mal.
C’est vrai que la liste des critiques et des griefs vis à vis de l’entreprise est très longue par contre peu de solutions sont proposées dans cet essai qui finit sur une note plutôt négative.
C’est vrai que la liste des critiques et des griefs vis à vis de l’entreprise est très longue par contre peu de solutions sont proposées dans cet essai qui finit sur une note plutôt négative.
May 20, 2025
I read Bonjour Laziness many years ago (19? 20?), and it is interesting how little has changed in the corporate world since the book's US publication in 2005.
Well, things have changed. Business and Capitalism have become more brutal, more ridiculous, and more impossible to navigate. And there's the post-pandemic working from home productivity debate raging. 😂 WAKE UP C-SUITE! Office workers have been finding ways to F around on company time long before March 2020.
This book is funny, but it's also very sad.
Well, things have changed. Business and Capitalism have become more brutal, more ridiculous, and more impossible to navigate. And there's the post-pandemic working from home productivity debate raging. 😂 WAKE UP C-SUITE! Office workers have been finding ways to F around on company time long before March 2020.
This book is funny, but it's also very sad.
Read
December 17, 2016The author is expecting that the end of history is just around the corner. That might seem mad but there are many clever people who have believed the same thing in the past. I think it was Marx who was a champion of that one.
I think the book accurately describes the modern workforce. I wonder myself sometimes if it would be better to go and start a small business. Perhaps a bakery or cafe. I agree that there are some major flaws in the current system.
But I think it is the result of the weakness of the human condition which creates socially destructive motivations.... the love of money, and the desire for recognition. As a consequence we treat each other badly. This humanity is what spoils all forms of society both here and in the future and is unavoidable. But it is what makes us what we are and in it is the potential for good and bad.
I read this at about the same time I read Erasmus' Praise of Folly. So i am comparing this author against Erasmus who touches on some similar themes.
I gave Erasmus 5 stars. In comparison this book is worth 1-2 stars. But i give it 4 because it is interesting and worth reading and it is easy to read. Hope that makes sense.
I think the book accurately describes the modern workforce. I wonder myself sometimes if it would be better to go and start a small business. Perhaps a bakery or cafe. I agree that there are some major flaws in the current system.
But I think it is the result of the weakness of the human condition which creates socially destructive motivations.... the love of money, and the desire for recognition. As a consequence we treat each other badly. This humanity is what spoils all forms of society both here and in the future and is unavoidable. But it is what makes us what we are and in it is the potential for good and bad.
I read this at about the same time I read Erasmus' Praise of Folly. So i am comparing this author against Erasmus who touches on some similar themes.
I gave Erasmus 5 stars. In comparison this book is worth 1-2 stars. But i give it 4 because it is interesting and worth reading and it is easy to read. Hope that makes sense.
Read
August 31, 2010So far this book has me laughing so hard. Especially the part about what a crock corporate companies are when they use the "work smarter, not harder" philosophy! Reminds me of the last crappy job I just left!!
February 22, 2012
It started very nice but as the book went on it was a little to management writing for me.I have to admit though that the last pages was a little bit like a revelation for me cause the ideas there are very revolutionary and pioneer.
May 15, 2017
Polemisch und zynisch ohne Ende, aber es hat mich mehrfach zum Lachen gebracht und daran erinnert, dass man alles - vor allem aber sich selbst - nicht immer allzu ernst nehmen braucht.
July 10, 2012
It was like having a buddy share the same thoughts that I have on Corporates! They are never a part of our dreams, Just a part of our living-hood.
January 2, 2014
Una crítica mordaz a la jerarquía de trabajo en las grandes empresas y el absurdo con el que promueven y motivan a los trabajadores. Toda una apología del derecho a la pereza.
June 12, 2014
Fantastic, why didn't I read this book 10 years ago?
August 1, 2014
Man, I love the French. I don't think this black hearted cynical little treatise on the stupidity of business could have come from anywhere else.
August 29, 2022
Another french intellectual that hates capitalism but is afraid to be a militant.
February 10, 2022
Some good points and fun descriptions of corporate life, but mostly it is a collection of bileful bitterness from the author. Not very helpful, nor (would I think) very relevant for most companies.
January 14, 2026
The book is gripping and thought-provoking. The deliberately exaggerated descriptions, as I interpret them, also carry a political tone and message.
The book can be understood and experienced philosophically on several different levels—it is up to the reader to choose.
The book can be understood and experienced philosophically on several different levels—it is up to the reader to choose.
October 7, 2024
J'ai bien ri. Mais pitié je suis heureuse d'être dans l'associatif.
Quelques passages ont mal vieilli comme on dit
Quelques passages ont mal vieilli comme on dit
November 13, 2009
Das Buch einer Frustrierten
Das Buch klang sehr interessant, und wenn man bedenkt, dass es ein Bestseller ist, dann muss man ja geradezu hingreifen und es lesen ... glaubt man ... und man irrt sich gewaltig.
Dachte ich zunächst der Grund warum dieses Buch so in Verruf ist, liegt darin begraben, dass Meier ein Tabu bricht und darüber schreibt, dass sich nicht längst alle so anstrengen wie sie das gerne vorgeben. Um so interessanter wäre es die Welt durch die klugen Augen eines solchen Menschen zu sehen.
Aber nein. Es sind keine klugen Augen, snodern nur billige Polemik die sich in diesem Buch wiederfinden. Polemik gegen Unternehmen, Polemik gegen die Wirtschaft, Polemik gegen Führungskräfte, Polemik und Chauvinismus gegen die USA. Das Buch ist nicht lustig zu lesen, sondern man hört immer nur den frustrierten Unterton einer Frau die es nicht geschafft hat, sich mit den Gegebenheiten zu arrangieren. Vieles von dem was sie schreibt mag mehr als bloß ein Körnchen Wahrheit enthalten, und dennoch klingt es nur nach Frust und Trauerarbeit. "Get a life" würde man ihr gerne entgegenwerfen, aber dann freilich griffe man zur Sprache eines Volkes das Frau Meier freimütig als "rassistisch, ungebildet und gänzlich ohne Chancengleichheit" bezeichnet. Und dies übrigens nicht unter Anführungszeichen, sondern durchaus ernst gemeint.
Das Buch klang sehr interessant, und wenn man bedenkt, dass es ein Bestseller ist, dann muss man ja geradezu hingreifen und es lesen ... glaubt man ... und man irrt sich gewaltig.
Dachte ich zunächst der Grund warum dieses Buch so in Verruf ist, liegt darin begraben, dass Meier ein Tabu bricht und darüber schreibt, dass sich nicht längst alle so anstrengen wie sie das gerne vorgeben. Um so interessanter wäre es die Welt durch die klugen Augen eines solchen Menschen zu sehen.
Aber nein. Es sind keine klugen Augen, snodern nur billige Polemik die sich in diesem Buch wiederfinden. Polemik gegen Unternehmen, Polemik gegen die Wirtschaft, Polemik gegen Führungskräfte, Polemik und Chauvinismus gegen die USA. Das Buch ist nicht lustig zu lesen, sondern man hört immer nur den frustrierten Unterton einer Frau die es nicht geschafft hat, sich mit den Gegebenheiten zu arrangieren. Vieles von dem was sie schreibt mag mehr als bloß ein Körnchen Wahrheit enthalten, und dennoch klingt es nur nach Frust und Trauerarbeit. "Get a life" würde man ihr gerne entgegenwerfen, aber dann freilich griffe man zur Sprache eines Volkes das Frau Meier freimütig als "rassistisch, ungebildet und gänzlich ohne Chancengleichheit" bezeichnet. Und dies übrigens nicht unter Anführungszeichen, sondern durchaus ernst gemeint.
December 17, 2022
Bonjour Laziness is the right book to read when your job title is "corporate slave". It explains the phenomenon of "quite-quitting" in recent term. Its undertone is comparison between business and totalitarian regimes, which is disturbingly similar as they have uncountable jargons and a lot of gibberish, as it treated human language to a mere tool to convey either dry information or (corporate) culture propaganda. This so called business-speak, is tool to justify the yearly reorganization of structure (just to change again the next year) and the development of new product simultaneously with other department developing the same product. The French work culture that appreaciate coming home late is similar to Indonesian culture, we are considered hard workers when we come home at least at 8 or 9 PM. Whereas in Germany, it will be considered inefficient time management. The driving force behind this rat-race is competition with others, as Sigmund Freud pointed out, it is nothing more than the narcissistic quest to stand out from the crowd, if only in some minuscule way.
All these nonsense is the norm to create better service, product, marketing, management, etc (these are the most common vocabulary in business-speak). This book is probably one of a kind that's very relatable with my current work culture.
All these nonsense is the norm to create better service, product, marketing, management, etc (these are the most common vocabulary in business-speak). This book is probably one of a kind that's very relatable with my current work culture.
September 22, 2015
Um ensaio muito interessante, repleto de crítica irónica do desleixo da esmagadora maioria dos trabalhadores dos postos de trabalho denominados «empresas» que nasceram nas últimas décadas. Embora a autora se foque no exemplo francês, esta é uma mentalidade partilhada pela maioria dos empregados dos países ocidentais europeus, incluindo Portugal. Senti revolta até às últimas páginas, porque a escrita era oposta à minha maneira de trabalhar, mas Corinne termina em grande, esperando/reivindicando o dia em essas empresas entrarão em autodestruição.
A very interesting essay, full of ironic criticism of the negligence of the vast majority of workers in jobs called «companies» that were born in recent decades. Although the author focus on the French example, this is a mindset shared by the majority of employees of the Western European countries, including Portugal. I felt revolt till last pages, because writing was opposed to my way of working, but Corinne ends in great, expecting/demanding the day when these companies enter into self-destruction.
A very interesting essay, full of ironic criticism of the negligence of the vast majority of workers in jobs called «companies» that were born in recent decades. Although the author focus on the French example, this is a mindset shared by the majority of employees of the Western European countries, including Portugal. I felt revolt till last pages, because writing was opposed to my way of working, but Corinne ends in great, expecting/demanding the day when these companies enter into self-destruction.
July 1, 2016
Det här är en analys av företagsstrukturer med en satirisk touch men jag finner den inte speciellt rolig. Den speglar maktstruktur som underminerar arbetslust och inspiration. Jag vet inte om det går att applicera på svenska företag, möjligen stora internationella företag som egentligen inte styrs från Sverige, eller företag med maktgalna män i toppen som trycker ner sina anställda, men jag kan inte påstå att det är allmängiltigt. Jag kan inte riktigt ta det till mig som hon skriver. Jag tycker snarare att det finns strukturer i många företag som inte ser kvinnors kompetens och kapacitet så snarare väcker den här boken feministen i mig. troligtvis skulle jag vilja arbeta ideellt. Jag ser inget fel i att arbeta och att arbeta mot machokulturen, maktstrukturer, härskartekniker och diskriminering på arbetsplatser måste vi fortsätta med, att göra minsta möjliga arbete på jobbet är inte riktigt vägen att gå för att skapa förtroende och respekt för att få igenom förändringar till ett bättre arbetsklimat.
November 21, 2013
Préambule
J'avais déjà lu ce livre fin 2004 (peu après sa sortie).
Je commençais alors, ma carrière professionnelle en prestation à EDF (la même entreprise que l'auteur).
N'ayant absolument aucun souvenir du livre, et presque 10 ans plus tard (j'ai maintenant ma petit expérience en entreprise), j'ai donc décidé de le relire.
Eh alors ?
C'est un pamphlet, un litanie de phrases prétentieuses et définitives. Des affirmations sans argumentation se succèdent sans réel but, peut-être dans le but de choquer le lecteur uniquement.
Le début du roman est plutôt drôle traitant du langage. Même s'il y a des recherches et un certain soin dans l'écriture, l'auteur balance, balance et balance sans cesse. Le problème est que la vision de l'auteur de son entreprise (EDF) est bien loin de la réalité...
Petit bémol également, 10 ans après, les technos ont évolué, et les passages sur les NTIC apparaissent un peu obsolète.
J'avais déjà lu ce livre fin 2004 (peu après sa sortie).
Je commençais alors, ma carrière professionnelle en prestation à EDF (la même entreprise que l'auteur).
N'ayant absolument aucun souvenir du livre, et presque 10 ans plus tard (j'ai maintenant ma petit expérience en entreprise), j'ai donc décidé de le relire.
Eh alors ?
C'est un pamphlet, un litanie de phrases prétentieuses et définitives. Des affirmations sans argumentation se succèdent sans réel but, peut-être dans le but de choquer le lecteur uniquement.
Le début du roman est plutôt drôle traitant du langage. Même s'il y a des recherches et un certain soin dans l'écriture, l'auteur balance, balance et balance sans cesse. Le problème est que la vision de l'auteur de son entreprise (EDF) est bien loin de la réalité...
Petit bémol également, 10 ans après, les technos ont évolué, et les passages sur les NTIC apparaissent un peu obsolète.
May 27, 2012
Sure, Corinne Maier has a point in that the power balance between company and employees has tilted towards the company, and her book is meant as a provocation, not as a scientific breakthrough. Knowing that, I was still disappointed. The author hides between a flippant intellectual pose, which actually hides her ignorance about business economics. Statements such as "a Quality Control manager is a totally superfluous position" or "we give people English job titles because they don't know what it means" betray a very narrow viewpoint and an unwillingness to understand economic realities. The inconsistencies are blatant, eg when she herself admits being fond of using difficult French words which colleagues won't understand. Nice attempt at provocation, but the faux-intellectual snobbery quickly became a bore.
September 21, 2007
Originally published as "Bonjour Paresse" in France, "Bonjour Laziness" is a fiesty little tome that rails against the evils of the corporate world, and "middle managers" in particular. Anyone who has worked in a low-level office job will immediately identify with Maier's disdain and frustration for corporate culture. It actually gets a bit depressing at times, and I had to put it down for this reason. I'm not in the mood for reading something so morose right now! Great translations of French words, like "claptrap," "flimflam" and "zesty." I'd love to know what the French equivalents are! "Zesty" is definitely an underutilized world - I'm going to try and use it more often!
August 2, 2011
I like cynicism. I appreciate a business book that has a cynical perspective. But this one is just too negative. Maier just has way too much bitterness about her years spent working in business and it spills out on every page. It would have been better if the same message was presented more matter-of-fact with less rhetoric and less of a "the business world hates you, hates you, hates you" angle. A draining read.
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