Work In America: Report of a Special Task Force to the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare [Paperback]

Millions of Americans are dissatisfied with the quality of their working lives with dull—repetitive jobs that stifle autonomy and initiative. This year-long study prepared for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research brings together facts about the current nature of work and the workplace that have ominous implications for the social and economic strength of the nation as a whole.

The demand for this report has been tremendous; HEW's initial supply was exhausted within a few days after publication. The Boston Globe says that “Work in America… may be one of the most important documents in recent years.” The research Institute of America reports in its Recommendations that “There is little doubt the facts in the report are right on target: The blue-collar blues are haunting the white-collar employee too; there's evidence that even many managers show signs of the blahs. A trade-off of money for leisure seems to be the longer-term trend.

“Because this study is officially sponsored by the government, and since it's the latest attempt to pull together all the facets of the program, Work in America will have the long-range clout. You'll be hearing about it—pro and con—on TV & in the press. Congress will debate it, bureaucrats will scrap over the details.”

And the New York Times remarks that “its findings directly challenge President Nixon's repeated assertions that some Americans are abandoning the 'work ethic' for the 'welfare ethic.'” In fact, just the l³-