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The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work
A wide-ranging look at the allure and changing significance of work.With seductions, misunderstandings, and misinformation everywhere, this immensely readable book calls for a new contract--with ourselves.Drawing from history, mythology, literature, pop culture, and practical experience, Ciulla probes the many meanings of work or its meaninglessness and are so many of us letting work take over our lives and trying to live in what little time is left?What has happened to the old, unspoken contract between worker and employer?Why are young people not being disloyal when they regularly consider job-changing?Employers can't promise as much to workers as before. Is that because they promise so much to stockholders?Why are there mass layoffs and "downsizing" in a time of unequaled corporate prosperity? And why are the most common lies in business about satisfactory employee performance?The traditional contract between employers and employees is over. This thoughtful and provocative study shows how to replace it by the one we make with ourselves.
360 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 20, 2023
I was disappointed in and at times frustrated with this book. While there is a lot interesting and useful – Ciulla traces the history of the meaning of work through time as well as laying out various theories of work and management ideas – I found it somewhat one-sided, platitudinous, and over-generalized. (Though obviously not the author's fault, it is is a bit of date as well.)
While Ciulla is by no means anti-work, anti-business, or anti-markets, there is an ideological flavor, shall we say, in much of the book. There are few philosophers or economists referenced that offer heterodox views of the sociological, economic, or moral claims asserted. In this way, the book is rather uncritical of its own claims, even as the author does catalog a range of views of work and life.
The paradox of a study like this is that it tries to draw from a wide range of views and takes on ‘work’, across time, but in so doing it tends to become somewhat superficial. There is this view, and there is that view, and then this other view. As the author acknowledges, “work” covers a lot of different activities and comes with a multitude of attitudes and views about it. Many of these are contradictory. And so in trying to something about ‘work’ it tends towards the superficial. Work is important, work is unimportant. Work is primary, work is secondary. Work is a source of meaning, work is destructive of meaning.
At its best, the book does challenge one to think more about the concept of work, the meaning of work in our lives, and the role it plays (or ought to play) in our lives. It’s just that it wasn’t often at its best.
While Ciulla is by no means anti-work, anti-business, or anti-markets, there is an ideological flavor, shall we say, in much of the book. There are few philosophers or economists referenced that offer heterodox views of the sociological, economic, or moral claims asserted. In this way, the book is rather uncritical of its own claims, even as the author does catalog a range of views of work and life.
The paradox of a study like this is that it tries to draw from a wide range of views and takes on ‘work’, across time, but in so doing it tends to become somewhat superficial. There is this view, and there is that view, and then this other view. As the author acknowledges, “work” covers a lot of different activities and comes with a multitude of attitudes and views about it. Many of these are contradictory. And so in trying to something about ‘work’ it tends towards the superficial. Work is important, work is unimportant. Work is primary, work is secondary. Work is a source of meaning, work is destructive of meaning.
At its best, the book does challenge one to think more about the concept of work, the meaning of work in our lives, and the role it plays (or ought to play) in our lives. It’s just that it wasn’t often at its best.
March 30, 2018
This book took a long time to read because it was so densely packed with information and references to other writings. An incredibly in-depth overview (how can that be? Yet it is!) of the history of work. Written in 2000, I would love to read an update should the author write one.
January 28, 2026
Very comprehensive dive into the role of work & employers in our lives. Many opportunities for self-reflection. I have so many highlights to look back on, maybe I'll type up a longer review at some point.
December 30, 2018
This was my introduction to the theology of work.
Looking beyond a Sunday based christianity.
After all we do spend a large amount of our life in the workforce.
Looking beyond a Sunday based christianity.
After all we do spend a large amount of our life in the workforce.
July 1, 2014
It's interesting to see how the concept of work has evolved through the centuries.
_____________
Perhaps the unemployed have no leisure time because they have no constrained time.
"The trouble with unemployment is that you never get a day off."
Work offers instant discipline, identity and self-worth. It structures our time and imposes rhythm into our lives. Perhaps most importantly, it tells us what to do everyday.
For some, the art of enjoying life is hard to learn at a late age. The ant lives for the future, but doesn't always know what to do when he reaches it.
The choice for women between work and home can go both ways, and there is nothing wrong with either. Sometimes life outside work has more to offer than life at work.
People don't mind toil or drudgery if it serves a higher purpose and they believe in the purpose it serves.
What matters to the definition of the word job is that it is a finite amount of things a person gets paid to do.
The liberal arts implied not only clean and cerebral work, but the work of a free person.
Sloth originally wasn't about not working, it was about not caring (acedia).
From the emphasis of the 18th and 19th century of moral character being key to wealth, it shifted to psychology with the rise of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
The original professionals (lawyers, doctors,clergymen) had an implicit public vow to society.
One way to assert power over others is to determine what they need or create needs for them, then define what they have to do to meet those needs. (McClelland's Needs theory)
The service industry has managed to turn emotions into a commodity. Yet this leads to alienation on the job, as people are forced to express feelings they do not authentically feel.
It is better to be a field nigger than a house nigger, because the former does not have to suffer the added indignities of polite interactions with people he or she doesn't like. - Soul on Ice (Eldridge Cleaver)
When there is no trust between people or an organisation, people substitute rules, contracts and laws.
Without trust,there can be no betrayal, but there also can be no cooperation, no community, no commerce, no conversation.
Trust doesn't mean we can predict how a person will act, but it does create a set of reasonable expectations.
When commitment is reduced to time at work, loyalty to something that can be bought, and trust to a legal contract, these terms are emptied of moral meaning and the workplace becomes morally bankrupt.
The more activities we try to fit into a space of time, the faster time seems to go.
Working by the clock does not come naturally to people (Laos time!)
Life in preindustrial days was a bit like the life of a college student - irregular eating and sleeping, intermingled with intense drinking sessions, partying, and all night work sessions.
The defining moral aspect of what it means to be a professional is dedication to the task, not the clock.
The ability to go home when the job is done is powerful motivator because it gives people a sense of control over their time and work. Perhaps what is most unsatisfying about modern work is that people are paid for their time, not for what they produce.
The more the time demands of work dominate our lives, the more all activities feel like work. The clock and schedule rob our social lives of spontaneity.
Mass entertainment we can pick up or drop at any time without longing or regret. It is enjoyable, but has no lingering meaning for most people. While many enjoy TV or miss it because they are used to having it on all the time, most do not long for it.
Individuals or organisations can try to create meanings, but if these meanings are illusions created with smoke and mirrors, they produce nothing but cynicism.
To find meaning, people first have to grasp the truth or reality of a situation. To seek meaning, one has to feel like a human being.
One of the most tangible ways to show respect for others is by telling them the truth. We don't always enjoy hearing the truth or like the bearer of truth, but we grow to trust those who tell it to us.
_____________
Perhaps the unemployed have no leisure time because they have no constrained time.
"The trouble with unemployment is that you never get a day off."
Work offers instant discipline, identity and self-worth. It structures our time and imposes rhythm into our lives. Perhaps most importantly, it tells us what to do everyday.
For some, the art of enjoying life is hard to learn at a late age. The ant lives for the future, but doesn't always know what to do when he reaches it.
The choice for women between work and home can go both ways, and there is nothing wrong with either. Sometimes life outside work has more to offer than life at work.
People don't mind toil or drudgery if it serves a higher purpose and they believe in the purpose it serves.
What matters to the definition of the word job is that it is a finite amount of things a person gets paid to do.
The liberal arts implied not only clean and cerebral work, but the work of a free person.
Sloth originally wasn't about not working, it was about not caring (acedia).
From the emphasis of the 18th and 19th century of moral character being key to wealth, it shifted to psychology with the rise of Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
The original professionals (lawyers, doctors,clergymen) had an implicit public vow to society.
One way to assert power over others is to determine what they need or create needs for them, then define what they have to do to meet those needs. (McClelland's Needs theory)
The service industry has managed to turn emotions into a commodity. Yet this leads to alienation on the job, as people are forced to express feelings they do not authentically feel.
It is better to be a field nigger than a house nigger, because the former does not have to suffer the added indignities of polite interactions with people he or she doesn't like. - Soul on Ice (Eldridge Cleaver)
When there is no trust between people or an organisation, people substitute rules, contracts and laws.
Without trust,there can be no betrayal, but there also can be no cooperation, no community, no commerce, no conversation.
Trust doesn't mean we can predict how a person will act, but it does create a set of reasonable expectations.
When commitment is reduced to time at work, loyalty to something that can be bought, and trust to a legal contract, these terms are emptied of moral meaning and the workplace becomes morally bankrupt.
The more activities we try to fit into a space of time, the faster time seems to go.
Working by the clock does not come naturally to people (Laos time!)
Life in preindustrial days was a bit like the life of a college student - irregular eating and sleeping, intermingled with intense drinking sessions, partying, and all night work sessions.
The defining moral aspect of what it means to be a professional is dedication to the task, not the clock.
The ability to go home when the job is done is powerful motivator because it gives people a sense of control over their time and work. Perhaps what is most unsatisfying about modern work is that people are paid for their time, not for what they produce.
The more the time demands of work dominate our lives, the more all activities feel like work. The clock and schedule rob our social lives of spontaneity.
Mass entertainment we can pick up or drop at any time without longing or regret. It is enjoyable, but has no lingering meaning for most people. While many enjoy TV or miss it because they are used to having it on all the time, most do not long for it.
Individuals or organisations can try to create meanings, but if these meanings are illusions created with smoke and mirrors, they produce nothing but cynicism.
To find meaning, people first have to grasp the truth or reality of a situation. To seek meaning, one has to feel like a human being.
One of the most tangible ways to show respect for others is by telling them the truth. We don't always enjoy hearing the truth or like the bearer of truth, but we grow to trust those who tell it to us.
April 9, 2016
Joanne Ciulla's "The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work" is a great, thought-provoking philosophical and historical look at work. Representative chapters include:
“From Curse to Calling” - “Homer wrote that the gods hated humans and made them toil out of spite. In that same era the poet and farmer Hesiod wrote that the gods were displeased with humans, so they buried their food under the earth.”
“[T]he Protestants endowed work with the quest for meaning, identity, and signs of salvation.”
“Work and Freedom” - Slavery, indentured servants, Taylorism, and autonomy
“The Promising Workplace” - “The workplace is more friendly and supportive than [an employee’s] home.”
“Leisure and Consumption” - television, consumerism, and leisure that resembles work (e.g. bingo)
“The Search for Something More” – How we cope with uninspiring work.
The book provides an in-depth and educated expansion on one of my favorite scenes in "Office Space": What Peter Gibbons would do if he didn't have to work for a living:
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.
There's the rub, I think. It's somewhat ironic that in 2015 America some of those with the least free-time are dual-income strivers with children. The rich can be time poor, and the poor can be time rich. Are dual-income strivers doing it wrong? Thinking about this question even momentarily, I think it's a slam dunk that these people should be working: We're better off with Sheryl Sandberg working, and Joan Didion and Margaret Atwood writing, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page inventing. When I think about the alternative to working, I think, Thanks, but I'd rather have the money. For white collar professionals, their specialized work can provide more psychic satisfaction than the drudgery of keeping up the house and raising children.
I thought this was a thought-provoking thesis on Page 200:
“In 1970 economist Steffan Linder published “The Harried Leisure Class.” In it he argued that in affluent societies, when people have to choose between more free time and more spending, most choose more spending. That is why he believed that an increase in income is not necessarily an increase in prosperity.”
The desire for “larger living” is why I always thought the ending of “Office Space” was misleading. It shows Peter shoveling the wreckage of a burned-down Initech. Compared to shoveling garbage, sitting in a cubicle might not look so bad, especially if you factor in the pay disparity between physical work and white-collar mental work. I also suspect that a real-life Peter would have more in common with his educated white-collar coworkers than his fellow garbage shovelers.
Ciulla’s work is timeless and relevant for as long as we’ll have the capitalism vs. socialism debate, i.e. forever. Are employees wayward children that require discipline? Or are they adults who can be trusted? How much do employers owe them? Ciulla provides an interesting review of welfare capitalism (employers providing places to live and company stores) and the Bolivar project (a failed test in worker democracy in Bolivar, Tennessee). All told, “The Working Life” provides a deeply informed look at a rich topic.
“From Curse to Calling” - “Homer wrote that the gods hated humans and made them toil out of spite. In that same era the poet and farmer Hesiod wrote that the gods were displeased with humans, so they buried their food under the earth.”
“[T]he Protestants endowed work with the quest for meaning, identity, and signs of salvation.”
“Work and Freedom” - Slavery, indentured servants, Taylorism, and autonomy
“The Promising Workplace” - “The workplace is more friendly and supportive than [an employee’s] home.”
“Leisure and Consumption” - television, consumerism, and leisure that resembles work (e.g. bingo)
“The Search for Something More” – How we cope with uninspiring work.
The book provides an in-depth and educated expansion on one of my favorite scenes in "Office Space": What Peter Gibbons would do if he didn't have to work for a living:
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.
There's the rub, I think. It's somewhat ironic that in 2015 America some of those with the least free-time are dual-income strivers with children. The rich can be time poor, and the poor can be time rich. Are dual-income strivers doing it wrong? Thinking about this question even momentarily, I think it's a slam dunk that these people should be working: We're better off with Sheryl Sandberg working, and Joan Didion and Margaret Atwood writing, Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, and Larry Page inventing. When I think about the alternative to working, I think, Thanks, but I'd rather have the money. For white collar professionals, their specialized work can provide more psychic satisfaction than the drudgery of keeping up the house and raising children.
I thought this was a thought-provoking thesis on Page 200:
“In 1970 economist Steffan Linder published “The Harried Leisure Class.” In it he argued that in affluent societies, when people have to choose between more free time and more spending, most choose more spending. That is why he believed that an increase in income is not necessarily an increase in prosperity.”
The desire for “larger living” is why I always thought the ending of “Office Space” was misleading. It shows Peter shoveling the wreckage of a burned-down Initech. Compared to shoveling garbage, sitting in a cubicle might not look so bad, especially if you factor in the pay disparity between physical work and white-collar mental work. I also suspect that a real-life Peter would have more in common with his educated white-collar coworkers than his fellow garbage shovelers.
Ciulla’s work is timeless and relevant for as long as we’ll have the capitalism vs. socialism debate, i.e. forever. Are employees wayward children that require discipline? Or are they adults who can be trusted? How much do employers owe them? Ciulla provides an interesting review of welfare capitalism (employers providing places to live and company stores) and the Bolivar project (a failed test in worker democracy in Bolivar, Tennessee). All told, “The Working Life” provides a deeply informed look at a rich topic.
December 22, 2011
Interesting thing about this business book is that the author is a philosopher. Integrating philosophy into business made for an entertaining read. This is not a difficult text but there are moments intended to provoke the reader into thinking about the meaning of their life. Hence, this book might not be for everyone.
October 11, 2011
The seductive array of things that we can buy ties us to our jobs and often deprives us of our time. The foundation of a life that works ultimately begins with a clear picture of what work is and what we want to do with our limited time on earth.
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January 5, 2013excellent read
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews