ABSTRACT
Given the critiques leveled at work, work environments, organizational policies for workers and attitudes toward workers, the question arises: what might be done? Specifically, what might be done to not just recognize but begin to rectify the difficult position in which many workers find themselves? This chapter offers just a few possibilities, the general tone and direction of which could inform many others. How to be a personal advocate for workers is described.
The chapter identifies an important initial target for reform as the manner in which job applicants are treated. These vulnerable individuals are often mistreated or ignored by the very organizations which post job openings. Second, treating current workers as experts in their jobs is more than a token gesture; it generates self-respect and can redound to a company’s benefit in a number of ways. Finally, we can do better in training bosses to be less bossy.
