The New American Workplace

HR Magazine, June, 2006 by Leigh Rivenbark, Nicole Gauvin

The New American Workplace

By James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III, Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., 2006

List price: $27.95, 256 pages, ISBN: 1-4039-6959-0

In the foreword to The New American Workplace, Society for Human Resource Management President and CEO Susan Meisinger writes, "Jim O'Toole and Ed Lawler have produced a compelling and comprehensive account that--in addition to chronicling U.S. workplace changes--examines the factors underlying these developments, details their impact on workers, and explores future workplace scenarios for both workers and the organizations that employ them."

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This book examines today's large and mid-size private-sector companies, focusing on global competition, changing technology and results-based performance to show the consequences of these changes on the conditions of work in America and on the lives of its workers.

The authors ask, "If America wishes to continue to be the world's leading economic power, what workplace practices and public policies are required to insure that it succeeds?" Their answer is that it will depend on how certain key themes are addressed by companies throughout the nation going forward.

These key themes include:

* An insufficient creation of new "good jobs."

* More choice and more risk.

* An increased influence of competitive and economic drivers.

* Greater tension between work and family life.

* A mismatch between skills and business needs.

* The changing nature of careers.

* Social stratification based on educational attainment.

* The shortcomings of the health care system.

* A reduction in community and commitment.

* The unrealized opportunities to make more effective use of human capital.

The authors' analysis of how corporations are managed shows that the major themes touch on the different aspects of our lives and have an effect on our careers and on how we try to balance our work with our home life. There will also be consequences on our health and safety, on the satisfaction we get from our work, on the compensation we receive for our work, on if we have any say in what goes on at work, on our education and training, and on our work environment and personal relationships. For example, the book tells us that "good work" will satisfy these three needs:

* Basic economic resources and security for a good life.

* Meaningful work and the opportunity for personal development.

* Supportive social relationships.

For most Americans, good work is fascinating and fulfilling, pays well, and takes place in a positive work environment. A few employers, known as high-involvement companies, work hard to provide this kind of work for their employees. UPS and Costco are cited often as examples. Organizations that do not operate this way often align their best interests with their stockholders' rather than their employees'. Wal-Mart is often used to represent this group of low-cost (LC) operators. It is the LC employers who may not consider it their responsibility to satisfy all the needs of their workers. However, the authors point out 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." In today's global economy, there is only a small margin of error and the inefficient use of human capital can have disastrous consequences.

Buy the Book

This book can be purchased through the SHRMStore online. Members receive a discount off the list price. Visit www.shrm.org/shrmstore and search for item number 62.16501.