Rethinking Work

David Blustein and Lisa Flores have curated a remarkable collection of essays in which some of the world's finest minds tackle one of the world's most urgent questions: How can we make the modern workplace more humane and just? The voices and perspectives in this timely book will spark you to think bigger and will equip you with the ideas and practices to transform both workforce policies and your own work life. -Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive; When, and The Power of Regret. Blustein and Flores have given us an amazing gift in their edited book, Rethinking Work; the gift of reimagination. This book intricately weaves together a tapestry of essays that reimagine our relationship to work, and introduce provocative possibilities about humanity at the center of work. The authors call readers to the metaphorical dinner table to speak to us from their hearts as they discuss implications of the current inflection point in the world of work and then invite us to step outside to have a fireside chat and wrestle with the questions raised at the table. If you are ready for out-of-the-box thinking to build a better workplace, this it! -Angela Byars-Winston is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior author of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report entitled The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. This rich and compelling series of essays describes, prescribes, and proscribes policies and practices in the world of work. The authors portray the importance of work for a wide variety of populations, paying particular attention to the plight of oppressed and marginalized communities. But the contributors go far beyond describing the current state of affairs; they offer persuasive and practical recommendations for imagining thriving workplaces around the world. This magnificent book will enlighten the mind and empower the spirit to do better, to work better, and to live better. I highly recommend it to leaders, workers, students, and policy makers. -Isaac Prilleltensky is the Mautner Endowed Chair in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami, and co-author, with Ora Prilleltensky, of How People Matter: Why it Affects Health, Happiness, Love, Work, and Society. The answer to the common question What do you do? is usually one's occupation, because work is so fundamental to one's identity. Much deeper questions follow this basic one: Can decent work be accessible and equitable for all?, How are technology and globalization affecting the nature of jobs, education, and the labor market?, and Who all are really benefiting from our work? Rethinking Work: Essays on Building a Better Workplace provides refreshing expert insights to questions such as these. Moreover, discovering how chapters are usefully related in addressing workplace issues is, to me, as rewarding as the chapters in their own right. -Fred Oswald, PhD., Professor and Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Science, Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University In light of the clear evidence that the institution of work is not working for individuals or society, this thoughtful and thought-provoking volume brings together voices from across the globe to reimagine a people-focused future of work. It is through imaginative exercises such as these that one sees a pathway to a more hopeful future of work-one that is built around the ideas of decency, dignity, equity, social justice, well-being, agency, and sustainability. This book is a must-read for students, scholars, workers, organizational leaders, policy-makers, and anyone looking to understand and positively impact the institution of work. -Mindy Shoss, Professor of Psychology, University of Central Florida; Honorary Professor, Australian Catholic University