Why Work Sucks

Not my headline, but the title of a new book by work consultants Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. I met them for a brand eins story about Best Buy's Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) a year ago. After spinning their in-house rebellion out in to an independent consulting shop, the two have now released a book called "Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It."

It expands on what it takes to free employees from the grueling meeting marathon, senseless deadlines, and mandatory office presence that most companies still cling to -- or have even brought back. The flip side of more freedm is, of course, being responsible for one's own workload, scheduling, and to make the judgment call between checking mail, signing onto IM and switching off to play.

It sort of flies into the face of another hot and hyped idea -- the 4-Hour Work Week propagated by Timothy Ferriss. His is a post-industrial, utopian recipe for personal outsourcing and info dieting. It sounds tempting, when Tim explained it to me at this year's SXSW in Austin, but its bare-bones approach does not work for most of us, I am convinced.

Why not meet in the middle, and leave it to each knowledge worker to say when? Some of us are long-distance workaholics, others thrive in meetings, yet others make do with quick bursts of activity. In fact, most people do not shun the trip to the office when given the choice. Just knowing you are in control makes a big difference, though. Just don't let management tell adults when to be where if it's not vital. Or, in the words of Ressler and Thompson: "People across the planet want better lives; employers want better results; neither side has to compromise." If you're curious, they offer a free PDF of their intro and first chapter here.