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Lab Rats

Why Modern Work Makes People Miserable

Dan Lyons

$22.99

Paperback

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English
Atlantic Books
07 January 2020
Guardian's Best Non-Fiction, 2019 The Tablet's Highlights of 2019

Personality tests. Team-building exercises. Forced Fun. Desktop surveillance. Open-plan offices. Acronyms. Diminishing job security. Hot desking. Pointless perks. Hackathons.

If any of the above sound familiar, welcome to the modern economy. In this hilarious, but deadly serious book, bestselling author Dan Lyons looks at how the world of work has slowly morphed from one of unions and steady career progression to a dystopia made of bean bags and unpaid internships. And that's the 'good' jobs...

With the same wit that made Disrupted an international bestseller, Lyons shows how the hypocrisy of Silicon Valley has now been exported globally to a job near you. Even low-grade employees are now expected to view their jobs with a cult-like fervour, despite diminishing prospects of promotion. From the gig economy to the new digital oligarchs, Lyons deliciously roasts the new work climate, while asking what can be done to recoup some sanity and dignity for the expanding class of middle-class serfs.

By:  
Imprint:   Atlantic Books
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Edition:   Main
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   270g
ISBN:   9781786493941
ISBN 10:   1786493942
Pages:   272
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
"1: Unhappy in Paradise 2: The New Oligarchs 3: A Very Brief History of Management Science (and Why You Shouldn't Trust It) 4: Who's Afraid of Silicon Valley? 5: Building the Workforce of the Future (or: Sorry, You're Old and We'd Like You to Leave) 6: Money: ""Garbage at the Speed of Light"" 7: Insecurity: ""We're a Team, not a Family"" 8: Change: ""What Happens if You Live Inside a Hurricane that Never Ends?"" 9: Dehumanization: ""Think of Yourself as a Machine Within a Machine"" 10: The Battle for the Soul of Work 11: Basecamp: Back to Basics 12: Managed by Q: ""Everybody Cleans"" 13: Kapor Capital: Conscious Capitalists 14: The Social Enterprise Movement Epilogue: Can Zebras Fix What Unicorns Have Broken?"

Dan Lyons is an author, journalist, and screenwriter. He has co-produced and written for the HBO series Silicon Valley, was technology editor at Newsweek and was the creator of the groundbreaking viral blog 'The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs' (AKA 'Fake Steve Jobs').

Reviews for Lab Rats: Why Modern Work Makes People Miserable

Laugh-out-loud funny * Newsweek on DISRUPTED * Skewering corporate jargon, management science and, worst of all, enforced fun, Lyons' waggish jeremiad lays out how the world of work has changed for the worse. * Tatler * Funny and frightening. * The Sunday Post * Entertaining... A worthwhile and disturbing read. * Sunday Business Post * Lab Rats defies easy description. I sputtered laughing and choked crying (literally, not figuratively) as I read it. Yes, Lyons gives Silicon Valley the thrashing that it, alas, largely deserves. But in the final third of the book, he offers us an effectively illustrated way out - an approach to work and business that puts people first. * Tom Peters, bestselling author of In Search of Excellence * Lyons is very funny journalist... Much of his polemic rings true. * FT * Entertaining * The Economist * A lively and spirited takedown... Its core argument is surely irrefutable. * Guardian * Fascinating, thought-provoking, hilarious and sometimes harrowing. * Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project *


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