Paycheck

In one survey, 61 percent of employees said that workplace stress had made them sick and 7 percent said they had actually been hospitalized. Job stress costs US employers more than $300 billion annually and may cause 120,000 excess deaths each year. In China, 1 million people a year may be dying from overwork. People are literally dying for a paycheck. And it needs to stop. In this timely, provocative book, Jeffrey Pfeffer contends that many modern management commonalities such as long work hours, work-family conflict, and economic insecurity are toxic to employees—hurting engagement, increasing turnover, and destroying people’s physical and emotional health—and also inimical to company performance. He argues that human sustainability should be as important as environmental stewardship. You don’t have to do a physically dangerous job to confront a health-destroying, possibly life-threatening, workplace. Just ask the manager in a senior finance role whose immense workload, once handled by several employees, required frequent all-nighters—leading to alcohol and drug addiction. Or the dedicated news media producer whose commitment to getting the story resulted in a sixty-pound weight gain thanks to having no down time to eat properly or exercise. Or the marketing professional prescribed antidepressants a week after joining her employer. In Dying for a Paycheck, Jeffrey Pfeffer marshals a vast trove of evidence and numerous examples from all over the world to expose the infuriating truth about modern work life: even as organizations allow management practices that literally sicken and kill their employees, those policies do not enhance productivity or the bottom line, thereby creating a lose-lose situation. Exploring a range of important topics including layoffs, health insurance, work-family conflict, work hours, job autonomy, and why people remain in toxic environments, Pfeffer offers guidance and practical solutions all of us—employees, employers, and the government—can use to enhance workplace wellbeing. We must wake up to the dangers and enormous costs of today’s workplace, Pfeffer argues. Dying for a Paycheck is a clarion call for a social movement focused on human sustainability. Pfeffer makes clear that the environment we work in is just as important as the one we live in, and with this urgent book, he opens our eyes and shows how we can make our workplaces healthier and better.

PAYCHECK, originally written as a short story by Philip K. Dick and first published in 1953, centres on an electrician who wakes up to discover his employer has erased his memory of the past two years -- as a security measure. When he tries to collect his paycheck, he finds he has previously signed a release replacing the money with a bag of random objects. Previous film adaptations of Dick's short stories have included the box office smash hits MINORITY REPORT, TOTAL RECALL and BLADE RUNNER, released shortly after Dick died in 1982.

Paycheck to Paycheck is an inspiring tribute to the working class and a global kind of patriotic book which motivates and sends a supportive message straight to the heart of millions. Whether we envision our parents, their roots, blood, sweat and tears or our own pathways of labor to date, the reader feels connected. Living from paycheck to paycheck is a way of life for many people, some by choice, some by necessity. "Money makes the world go 'round." But the author astutely and poignantly points out that, "money isn't everything." In a world of continued economic flux, one thing remains almost certain. Paychecks will come and go. Everywhere the author goes, we seem to travel there too, momentarily. "Whether in a home or on the streets of Indiana, from the beauty shops to the corner candy store" citizens talk while the author and reader listens. Paycheck to Paycheck, truly a spirited voice for the past, present and centuries to come.

Like the rare teacher who can make a dry subject come alive, Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck presents a conversation between the author and you, a time-starved yet curious reader'with an occasional interruption from an annuity-obsessed salesman. Don't let the easy reading style of BPP fool you. It is also an excellent reference you will keep, dog-ear, and recommend for others to get their own copy.