Here are 100 books that Employment with a Human Face fans have personally recommended if you like
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My grandfather was a labour activist in Hull in the UK and my father had many classic labour texts such as the book by Tressell, listed below. That got me interested in the world of work and later more specifically in managing people. I moved from studying economics to employment relations /human resource management. Given that most of us (workers) spend 80,000 hours of our lives at work - more time than we are likely to spend on any other activity during our lifetimes - how we spend these lives has remained a source of fascination
It is a rich and memorable oral history of America told by more than a hundred workers across a huge slice of American working life including those of paperboys, photographers, switchboard operators, actors, writers, executives, barbers, sanitation truck drivers, stockbrokers, professional athletes, teachers, grave diggers, lettuce pickers and many more.
It shows how work is a search for both a daily crust and meaning. The book inspired a musical and a recent Netflix series with Obama as the host.
Perhaps Studs Terkel's best-known book, Working is a compelling, fascinating look at jobs and the people who do them. Consisting of over one hundred interviews conducted with everyone from gravediggers to studio heads, this book provides a timeless snapshot of people's feelings about their working lives, as well as a relevant and lasting look at how work fits into American life.
My grandfather was a labour activist in Hull in the UK and my father had many classic labour texts such as the book by Tressell, listed below. That got me interested in the world of work and later more specifically in managing people. I moved from studying economics to employment relations /human resource management. Given that most of us (workers) spend 80,000 hours of our lives at work - more time than we are likely to spend on any other activity during our lifetimes - how we spend these lives has remained a source of fascination
It was on the shelf at home (a big red covered book with very small print!) and is very much seen as a classic of working-class literature.
Tressell wrote this semi-autobiographical account of his time as a housepainter and presented the workers as philanthropists who work desperately hard to enable profits for the bosses. The book was rejected by publishers in his lifetime and only published after his death, his daughter having saved the book from his desire to burn it after rejection from several publishers.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic representation of the impoverished and politically powerless underclass of British society in Edwardian England, ruthlessly exploited by the institutionalized corruption of their employers and the civic and religious authorities. Epic in scale, the novel charts the ruinous effects of the laissez-faire mercantilist ethics on the men, women, and children of the working classes, and through its emblematic characters, argues for a socialist politics as the only hope for a civilized and humane life for all. This Wordsworth edition includes an exclusive foreword by the late Tony Benn.
My grandfather was a labour activist in Hull in the UK and my father had many classic labour texts such as the book by Tressell, listed below. That got me interested in the world of work and later more specifically in managing people. I moved from studying economics to employment relations /human resource management. Given that most of us (workers) spend 80,000 hours of our lives at work - more time than we are likely to spend on any other activity during our lifetimes - how we spend these lives has remained a source of fascination
Most people will have heard of Parkinson’s law: the idea that work expands to fill the time available for its completion, but he (drawing from his time as a naval historian) also developed the law of triviality: that an organization typically give devotes disproportionate time to insignificant issues.
The short book is full of many other insightful observations about organizational life and bureaucracy, including the tendency for officials to make more work for each, other leading to the famous prediction that the Royal Navy would eventually have more admirals than ships.
Parkinson's Law states that 'work expands to fill the time available'. While strenuously denied by management consultants, bureaucrats and efficiency experts, the law is borne out by disinterested observation of any organization. The book goes far beyond its famous theorem, though. The author goes on to explain how to meet the most important people at a social gathering and why, as a matter of mathematical certainty, the time spent debating an issue is inversely proportional to its objective importance. Justly famous for more than forty years, Parkinson's Law is at once a bracingly cynical primer on the reality of human…
My grandfather was a labour activist in Hull in the UK and my father had many classic labour texts such as the book by Tressell, listed below. That got me interested in the world of work and later more specifically in managing people. I moved from studying economics to employment relations /human resource management. Given that most of us (workers) spend 80,000 hours of our lives at work - more time than we are likely to spend on any other activity during our lifetimes - how we spend these lives has remained a source of fascination
Much work on management talks of talent and people being the most important asset, whose ideas and skills should be fully utilized.
This book points to another side of organizations, where stupidity and idiocy reign despite the presence of smart workers (think of people who have important information to convey but are quiet at meetings as they are worried about not being seen as team players). This can help organisations in the short run (less conflict and everyone getting on with the job) but in the long run is problematic.
The authors point to how top-down management marginalizes critical voices and reinforces conformity to existing practices, and in so doing can embed stupidity.
Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox.
The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a…
It might be a stretch to call me an expert in ethics, but I have taught ethics for more than 30 years and I’ve read deeply in the field of behavioral ethics. I'm proud of the work I’ve done with the Ethics Unwrapped video project, though most of the credit goes to filmmakers Cara Biasucci (co-author of Behavioral Ethics in Practice: Why We Sometimes Make the Wrong Decisions) and Lazaro Hernandez (producer ofEthics Unwrapped). My passion for this topic is driven largely by the fact that I want my two daughters to live in a world where most people are trying to do the right thing most of the time.
Love this book! This is a foundational behavioral ethics book, written by two giants in the field—psychologists Bazerman of Harvard Business School and Tenbrunsel of Notre Dame.
It is research-based, yet very accessible to the novice, directly addressing, as the title indicates, why people sometimes mess up and how they can avoid it. It introduces the reader to cognitive biases and other influences that can fool people’s brains into making poor moral choices.
Blind Spots was an invaluable resource for Cara Biasucci and me for many of the 150 or so videos we have produced for Ethics Unwrapped.
When confronted with an ethical dilemma, most of us like to think we would stand up for our principles. But we are not as ethical as we think we are. In "Blind Spots", leading business ethicists Max Baseman's and Ann Tenbrunsel examine the ways we overestimate our ability to do what is right and how we act unethically without meaning to. From the collapse of Enron and corruption in the tobacco industry, to sales of the defective Ford Pinto, the downfall of Bernard Madoff, and the Challenger space shuttle disaster, the authors investigate the nature of ethical failures in the…
I’m on a mission to cultivate creativity at work! After starting my career in the performing arts, I made a pivot to corporate life over 20 years ago and haven’t looked back. What I’ve discovered is how essential creativity is in any workplace, and how its impact on organizational culture is underrated. Effective leaders prioritize connection, creativity, and make culture a strategic priority. After learning from hundreds of artists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, I wrote this book to highlight their stories—unpacking how they bring creativity to life in their work. My hope is readers leave with tools to spark more meaningful connection and creative work experiences.
A refreshingly unconventional business book read, Orbiting the Giant Hairball reveals Gordon MacKenzie’s long-tenured career at Hallmark and distills his reflections on what it means to be a creative human in a traditional corporate environment.
Illustrated with playful art throughout, this book invites deeper meditation on how our creative spirit shows up in our work—and life. For the non-linear thinkers among us, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable escape.
Creativity is crucial to business success. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball"--a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past--that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Gordon McKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, many of which he spent inspiring his colleagues to slip the bonds of Corporate Normalcy and rise to orbit--to a mode of dreaming, daring and doing above and beyond the rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares the story…
We are relatable women who have successful careers in a predominately male industry. We have run businesses, built teams based on trust and inclusion, become authors, speakers, and advisors, while simultaneously raising children with our also working husbands. This is not done with ease or without making trade-offs, but we will share our stories and hope to inspire other women. We believe in supporting women in all areas of our lives and we love to lift up the ones who have impacted us.
Leading with Grit and Grace outlines the journey of an organization’s cultural transformation as told by its inspirational leader, Ashleigh Walters.
For Kathy, when reading this book, it felt as though she and Ashleigh had gone to the exact same school of leadership. Although in reality, it’s not a traditional leadership school, but becoming educated as a real live manufacturing leader, with all of its trials and joys.
Her book made Kathy feel as though she instantly had a kindred spirit out there, and she could not stop smiling through the entirety of this true story!
Lessons to Lead By: The journey to organizational culture change starts with you, the leader. Have the courage to take the road less traveled when you identify that change is necessary. Inspire personnel to solve problems while continuously improving processes. Learn from your failures and become more innovative and creative with each iteration. Know that life is full of adversity, but prepare to forge ahead and celebrate success along the way. Remember, if you lead with determination, resilience and persistence (GRIT), as well as empathy and compassion (GRACE), you can accomplish goals you once thought were unattainable. In all that…
I see it every day. People wake up and trudge to work, resentfully working at a company that falls short of its promises and values. This is a problem that I've dedicated my career to resolving. My job is to ‘help organizations discover and live their possible’. This mission has guided me throughout my career as an international author, speaker, coach, and consultant with more than 25 years of corporate experience. Your brand promise doesn't determine your customer’s experience, your culture does. The problem is that we see culture as a means to an end leading us to a “set it and forget it mentality.” Culture is a living, breathing thing that must be nurtured.
If you are linear and like steps and processes this book is for you.
You will most likely make notes and underline a great number of things in this book. This is a practical book that masterfully outlines the “how to.” The author writes it in a way that it feels like they are your coach.
Culture transformation expert Siobhan McHale defines culture simply: "It's how things work around here." The secret to the success or failure of any business boils down to its culture.
From disengaged employees to underserved customers, business failures invariably stem from a culture problem. In The Insider's Guide to Culture Change, acclaimed culture transformation expert and global executive Siobhan McHale shares her proven four-step process to demystifying culture transformation and starting down the path to positive change.
Many leaders and managers struggle to get a handle on exactly what culture is and how pervasive its impact is throughout an organization. Some…
In 2011, I was a newly minted college professor who was trying to support my students’ interests (Greek life) in hopes that they would return the favor and support mine (medieval literature). Never in a million years would I have guessed that accepting an invitation to attend a Greek event on campus would snowball into receiving a bid to join a National Panhellenic Conference sorority and serve as its faculty advisor. Somewhere along the way, I realized that my perspective uniquely positioned me to shed new light on the longstanding controversies plaguing these organizations and provide a new lens through which to view their impact not only on campus culture but society at large.
There aren’t a lot of scholarly studies of fraternities and sororities in part because, until recently, academia didn’t see the topic as worthy of serious study.
Turk’s groundbreaking study dives deep into the archives to tell the origin story of the oldest Panhellenic sorority, and in the process, reveals a dramatic shift in organizational culture between its early years and second and third generations.
You’ll have to read the book to find of what happened and why…
A look at the intricate history of collegiate women's support networks-otherwise known as sororities
Sororities are often thought of as exclusive clubs for socially inclined college students, but Bound by a Mighty Vow, a history of the women's Greek system, demonstrates that these organizations have always served more serious purposes. Diana Turk explores the founding and development of the earliest sororities (then called women's fraternities) and explains how these groups served as support networks to help the first female collegians succeed in the hostile world of nineteenth century higher education.
Turk goes on to look at how and in what…
I’m on a mission to cultivate creativity at work! After starting my career in the performing arts, I made a pivot to corporate life over 20 years ago and haven’t looked back. What I’ve discovered is how essential creativity is in any workplace, and how its impact on organizational culture is underrated. Effective leaders prioritize connection, creativity, and make culture a strategic priority. After learning from hundreds of artists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, I wrote this book to highlight their stories—unpacking how they bring creativity to life in their work. My hope is readers leave with tools to spark more meaningful connection and creative work experiences.
Ever wonder how some of the world’s biggest company leaders think about culture? Curious how talent was developed at Adobe, Twitter, and WeWork?
Filled with successes and hard lessons learned, ReCulturing artfully summarizes how culture shows up across the workplace and what you can do to shape it. Through her in-the-trenches stories and helpful prompts, Melissa demystifies the process of connecting culture to your company’s North Star.
I found myself enthusiastically head-nodding throughout and will generously refer to her helpful frameworks as I partner with clients on culture initiatives.
Drive business sustainability, growth, and profits by taking a systematic approach to culture transformation
It's no secret that culture is the key to attracting and engaging top talent and seizing the competitive edge. But the vast majority of culture efforts fail as quickly as they started. Why? Because leaders are missing the big picture. They're creating and communicating values but failing to ensure the values are tied to the purpose and the strategy of the company while also being integrated into processes, operations, and behaviors.
In ReCulturing, Melissa Daimler solves this persistent problem by helping you develop a "systems" perspective…
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