91 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
91 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
Book review from the Whole Earth Review magazine. E-mail to
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(wer@well.sf.ca.us) for more info about the magazine.
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Sabotage in the American Workplace
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(Anecdotes of Dissatisfaction, Mischief and Revenge)
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Martin Sprouse, Editor. 1992; 175 pp.
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$12 postpaid from Pressure Drop Press,
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P. O. Box 460754, San Francisco, CA 94146; 415/821-4592
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Sabotage in the American Workplace
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In this collection of confessionals, editor Martin Sprouse reveals some
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surprising and disturbing truths about the American work ethic and our
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common perception of it. Anonymous stories of sabotage and revenge mostly
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exacted by abused, bored, underpaid, and sometimes endan-gered workers
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make the quote from George Bush in the frontispiece a real eyebrow-raiser:
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The American worker is the most productive in the world. Thats what George
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would like us (and the world) to believe; but this survey of store clerks,
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roofers, bankers, mail carriers, mes-sengers, accountants, and other blue-
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and white-collar workers belies that ideal. Some stories are merely
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entertaining (jamming machinery to create a relaxing stretch of downtime
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seems to be a popular prank), while others are fairly shocking (a waitress
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serves spoiled food to ruin her employers business). Motivation ranges from
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altruism to simple revenge to explorations in power plays. Instead of
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looking at sabotage as a problem in the workplace, the book examines the
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action as a defensive move against the empty and unrewarding jobs most
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Amer-icans are forced to take usually in an environment devoid of
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creativity, honesty and just reward. The workplace generally is the
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problem; of course, its also the solution.
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-Lorry Fleming
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Excerpts from the book:
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Mailroom Clerk [Heritage Foundation]
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I got the job right after high school. I had never heard of the organization,
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and just found the job through the newspaper. When I was working there, I
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would occasionally glance at what they were putting out; the more I read, the
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more I thought about it and realized they were doing fucked-up things, like
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defending business practices in South Africa and U.S. investments there. They
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have a big fundraising deal, and when they sent out fundraising requests,
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people would mail in checks. Sometimes they'd be huge amounts, and sometimes
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they were piddling. Checks came in from individuals as well as companies. So
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I'd randomly take an envelop, open it, see how much it was for, and throw it
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in the shredder. I started doing it more and more. I could tell if it was a
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check by holding it to the light. If so, I'd toss it, dump it or shred it.
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Technical Writer Dexter
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I'm a generalist, a person with diverse interests which multiply daily. Left
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alone and well-financed, I would produce voluminous amounts of creative stuff
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in a variety of media. But alas, society doesnt cater to such capricious and
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irresponsible thinkers. So I circumvent societys shortcomings, and still pay
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the bills, by doing my techno-artistic projects at work, on company time. In
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the last four years, I have written a novella, a workbook for a major
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publishing companys science textbook, two travel narratives, and countless
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smaller things. I have explored computer music, art, and animation at work and
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have even written a computer game. I have spent at least a couple thousand
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hours of company time on my projects, and at a pretty good salary.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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E-mail wer@well.sf.ca.us for more info about this document.
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This document was provided by the Whole Earth Review magazine. Whole Earth
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Review (WER) is published 4 times each year by the Point Foundation, a
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non-profit US corporation. Trial subscriptions to WER are available for
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US $20 per year for individuals. $35 per year for institutions; single
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copies $7. Add $8 per year for Canadian and $6 for foreign surface mail;
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add $12 per year for airmail anywhere.
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Most articles in Whole Earth Review are available on-line via
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Dialog, Mead & BRS. Whole Earth Review is indexed by "Access: The
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supplementary Index to Periodicals", Alternative Press Index, Magazine Index,
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Consumers Index, HumantitiesIndex, Book Review Index, Academic Index, and
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General Periodical Index.
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For copyright or other information please contact:
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Whole Earth Review
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USA
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Voice Phone: (415) 332-1716 Fax: (415) 332-3110
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