ABSTRACT

This collection of brief essays by thought-leaders, scholars, activists, psychologists, and social scientists imagines new workplace structures and policies that promote decent and fair work for all members of society, especially those who are most vulnerable.

The world of work has been deteriorating for decades and the very institution of work needs to be systematically understood, critiqued, reimagined, and rebuilt. This book offers thoughtful suggestions for new work arrangements, individual strategies for enhancing one’s work life, and recommendations for innovative systemic and institutional reforms. The collection offers critical analyses in conjunction with constructive solutions on rebuilding work, providing direction and context for ongoing debates and policy discussions about work.

The book will be of interest to activists, policy makers, management and leaders, scholars, professionals, students, and general readers interested work-based reform efforts and social change.

part |11 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|9 pages

Rethinking Work

An Introduction

part |28 pages

The Function of Work in People's Lives

chapter 2|5 pages

Livelihood Thinking for Career Development

Rethinking Work From Alternative Perspectives

chapter 4|6 pages

Rethinking Work and Building Better Workplaces

Who Gets a Say and Who Needs a Say?

chapter 5|5 pages

Why We Work

chapter 6|5 pages

Great Resignation or Great Transformation?

The Shifting Landscape of Work

part |46 pages

Inequality and Work

chapter 11|6 pages

International Students

Commodities for Education Local Employment, and the Global Labor Market

chapter 12|6 pages

Essential, Excluded, and Exploited

Undocumented Immigrant Workers Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

chapter 15|5 pages

Calling All Nepantleras

Building a More Inclusive Workplace

chapter 16|5 pages

Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value

Easier Said Than Done

chapter 18|5 pages

A Tale of Two Citizens

part |17 pages

Precarious Work, Unemployment, and Underemployment

chapter 21|5 pages

Addressing Internalized Stigma

How to Holistically Support Unemployed Jobseekers

part |31 pages

Race, Culture, and Work

chapter 23|6 pages

Black Women, Work and Liberation

(Re)Envisioning a More Equitable Workplace

chapter 24|5 pages

Using Power for Good

Learning to Recognize Hidden Biases/Strengths to Improve Workplace Relationships

chapter 26|5 pages

Working People

Brown and Black Meat and Poultry Processing Workers in the U.S. South

part |70 pages

Practice, Systematic, and Policy Perspectives on Work

chapter 30|3 pages

The Importance of Not Working

Paid Time Off as a Right Not a Privilege

chapter 31|5 pages

Work Is a Four-Letter Word

Secondary Schools, Employers, and Transitions Into Early Employment

chapter 33|5 pages

Toward a Squared Sustainable Work

Placing Ecological and Human Sustainability at the Heart of the Future of Work

chapter 34|5 pages

Decent Work in America?

chapter 35|5 pages

Our Purpose is People

chapter 37|4 pages

Dignity in the Workplace

chapter 38|5 pages

Bonded Labor

The Student Debt Crisis and Decent Work

chapter 39|4 pages

Not Just One Employee's Problem

Improving Workers' Well-Being Through Consultation, Education, and Advocacy

chapter 40|6 pages

A Degree Isn't What It Used to Be

Supporting College Students and Non-Completers Amid the Student Debt Crisis

part |22 pages

Technology and Work

chapter 41|4 pages

The Future of Work—Family Relations

Hopes for Beneficial Flexibility

chapter 43|5 pages

On Embracing Automation and Loving Work

Or Why We Should Not Be Afraid of Our Washing Machines