Myths of Work


Book Description

Buying a table tennis table will make your staff happier. Working eight hours a day, five days a week, will result in the most productivity. Paying higher salaries will always result in higher motivation. But will it really? There are a staggering number of myths, stereotypes and out-of-date rules that abound in the workplace. This can make it feel impossible to truly know how to get the most out of your career, your team and your organization. In Myths of Work, Ian MacRae and Adrian Furnham take an entertaining and evidence-based look at the most pervasive myths about our working lives, from the serious to the ridiculous, to give you the insight you need to become a better manager in the modern workplace. Fascinating real life case studies from organizations around the world display the myths (and how to overcome them) in practice. Myths of Work takes the most up-to-date academic research in business and psychology and combines it with practical insights, a lively writing style and a handy dip-in-and-out structure to form your ultimate guide to becoming a better enlightened manager.




Myths of Management


Book Description

Is it really true that working longer hours makes you more successful? Do you really need to hide your emotions in order to gain respect as a manager? Does higher pay really always lead to higher performance? The world of management is blighted by fads, fiction and falsehoods. In Myths of Management, Cary Cooper and Stefan Stern take you on an entertaining journey through the most famous myths surrounding the much-written about topic of management. They debunk false assumptions, inject truth into over-simplifications and tackle damaging habits head-on. Fascinating insights from psychology, leadership theory and organizational behaviour provide you with a compelling and practical guide to avoid falling into the trap of cliché, misinformation and prejudice. This engaging read offers you authentic insights into the reality of work, drawn from extensive research and real-world business examples, to give you the essential knowledge you need to become a better manager. Whether cheesy, naïve or even destructive, management myths could be holding you back and stifling your team's potential. Myths of Management is the guide you need to become an enlightened manager.




7 Myths of Working Mothers


Book Description

Dispelling our most cherished myths about working mothers, Suzanne Venker argues that women can never be successful in the workplace and at home simultaneously. Women can achieve the balance they so desperately seek only by planning their careers around motherhood, rather than planning motherhood around their careers.




The Enthusiastic Employee


Book Description

Enthusiastic employees outproduce and outperform. They step up to do the impossible. They rally each other in tough times. Most people are enthusiastic when they're hired: hopeful, ready to work hard, eager to contribute. What happens to dampen their enthusiasm? Management, that's what.




No Wall They Can Build


Book Description

"Why do people cross the border without documents? How do they make the journey? Whose interests does the border serve--and what has it done to North America? Every year, thousands of people risk their lives to cross the desert between Mexico and the United States. Drawing on nearly a decade of solidarity work along the border, this book uncovers the true goals and costs of US border policy--and what to do about it."--Back cover.




Groups That Work (and Those That Don't)


Book Description

A range of expert contributors explores the design and leadership of groups, providing detailed descriptions of twenty-seven diverse work groups—including task forces, top management groups, production teams, and customer service teams—to offer insights into what factors affect group productivity, and what leaders and group members can do to improve work group effectiveness.




Work Won't Love You Back


Book Description

A deeply-reported examination of why "doing what you love" is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives. You're told that if you "do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Whether it's working for "exposure" and "experience," or enduring poor treatment in the name of "being part of the family," all employees are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do what we love. In Work Won't Love You Back, Sarah Jaffe, a preeminent voice on labor, inequality, and social movements, examines this "labor of love" myth—the idea that certain work is not really work, and therefore should be done out of passion instead of pay. Told through the lives and experiences of workers in various industries—from the unpaid intern, to the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit worker and even the professional athlete—Jaffe reveals how all of us have been tricked into buying into a new tyranny of work. As Jaffe argues, understanding the trap of the labor of love will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. And once freed from those binds, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure, and satisfaction.




The No Asshole Rule


Book Description

The definitive guide to working with -- and surviving -- bullies, creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors, despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs, and all the other assholes who do their best to destroy you at work. "What an asshole!" How many times have you said that about someone at work? You're not alone! In this groundbreaking book, Stanford University professor Robert I. Sutton builds on his acclaimed Harvard Business Review article to show you the best ways to deal with assholes...and why they can be so destructive to your company. Practical, compassionate, and in places downright funny, this guide offers: Strategies on how to pinpoint and eliminate negative influences for good Illuminating case histories from major organizations A self-diagnostic test and a program to identify and keep your own "inner jerk" from coming out The No Asshole Rule is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Business Week bestseller.




The Myths of Creativity


Book Description

How to get past the most common myths about creativity to design truly innovative strategies We tend to think of creativity in terms reminiscent of the ancient muses: divinely-inspired, unpredictable, and bestowed upon a lucky few. But when our jobs challenge us to be creative on demand, we must develop novel, useful ideas that will keep our organizations competitive. The Myths of Creativity demystifies the processes that drive innovation. Based on the latest research into how creative individuals and firms succeed, David Burkus highlights the mistaken ideas that hold us back and shows us how anyone can embrace a practical approach, grounded in reality, to finding the best new ideas, projects, processes, and programs. Answers questions such as: What causes us to be creative in one moment and void in the next? What makes someone more or less creative than his or her peers? Where do our flashes of creative insight come from, and how can we generate more of them? Debunks 10 common myths, including: the Eureka Myth; the Lone Creator Myth; the Incentive Myth; and The Brainstorming Myth Written by David Burkus, founder of popular leadership blog LDRLB For anyone who struggles with creativity, or who makes excuses for delaying the work of innovation, The Myths of Creativity will help you overcome your obstacles to finding new ideas.




Myths of Work


Book Description

Buying a table tennis table will make your staff happier. Working eight hours a day, five days a week, will result in the most productivity. Paying higher salaries will always result in higher motivation. But will it really? There are a staggering number of myths, stereotypes and out-of-date rules that abound in the workplace. This can make it feel impossible to truly know how to get the most out of your career, your team and your company. In Myths of Work, Ian MacRae take an entertaining and evidence-based look at the most pervasive myths about our working lives, from the serious to the ridiculous, to give you the insight you need to become a better manager in the modern workplace. Fascinating real life case studies from organizations around the world display the myths (and how to overcome them) in practice. Myths of Work combines business thinking with psychology to give you practical insights, a lively writing style and a handy dip-in-and-out structure to form your ultimate guide to becoming a better and enlightened manager. About the Business Myths series... The Business Myths series tackles the falsehoods that pervade the business world. From leadership and management to social media and the workplace, these accessible books overturn out-of-date assumptions, skewer stereotypes and put oft-repeated slogans to the myth-busting test. Both entertaining and rigorously researched, these books will equip you with the insight and no-nonsense wisdom you need to succeed.