A Nation at Work: The Heldrich Guide to the American Workforce
edited by Carl E Van Horn and Herbert A Schaffner
Rutgers University Press, 2003 eISBN: 978-0-8135-6767-9 | Paper: 978-0-8135-3189-2 | Cloth: 978-0-8135-3188-5 Library of Congress Classification HD5724.N155 2003 Dewey Decimal Classification 331.10973
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In the United States work underlies our very concept of who we are. Changes in society and technology have influenced how and where we work, and transformations within the workplace in turn have altered our society.
A Nation at Work addresses the fundamental economic, demographic, policy, and business facts about how the workforce and workplace are changing in the early twenty-first century. Illustrated with over thirty-five graphs, Part I covers essential topics about the American workforce and workers. Part II gathers essays and speeches from the nation's outstanding journalists and workplace analysts. The book incorporates facts and data, including invaluable tables and listings for useful Internet sites, books, and organizations.
Comprehensive in scope, A Nation at Work will help readers reach a better understanding about their own work and the world of work around them.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Herbert A. Schaffer is the director of communications, marketing, and publications for the Heldrich Center. Carl E. Van Horn is director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at the Bloustein School at Rutgers University. He has been director of policy for the State of New Jersey, senior economist at the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and director of the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I THE WORKFORCE, THE ECONOMY, AND PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 1. Social, Economic, and Demographic Trends, 3
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Pension Plans and Social Security, 27
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Poverty and Its Role in U.S. Policy, 37
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Unemployment Insurance and Low-Income Workers
in the New-Economy's First Recession, 50
Chapter 2. Recruiting, Educating, and Training the Workforce, 67
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: The Workforce Investment Act, 90
Chapter 3. Regulating the Workforce, 103
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Affirmative Action-Pros and Cons, 112
PART II THE ECONOMY AND THE WORKFORCE: A CRITICAL READER
Chapter 4. Globalization, Technology, and Trade, 127
Information Technology and the New Economy, 129
U.S. Department of Commerce
Notions of New Economy Hinge on Pace of Productivity Growth, 133
Louis Uchitelle
A Decade of Difference: The Newly Improved U.S. Economy, 137
Jack Guynn
Manufacturing's Place in the Twenty-first-Century Economy, 144
Leo Reddy
Manufacturing amidst Economic and Market Jitters-
Still America's Best Bet for Growth, 147
W. R. Timken Jr.
Shining Factory on a Mountaintop, 155
Nancy Mills
Stocks Matter, but Jobs Matter More, 160
E. J. Dionne Jr.
The Economic Importance of Improving Math-Science Education, 162
Alan Greenspan
What We Work for Now, 166
Jerome M. Segal
The Real Foundation of the Software World: Behind-the-Scenes
Programmers Are Bricklayers of Internet Economy, 168
Steve Lohr
The New Antiglobalists: Exploring the Psychology of Seattle,
Washington, and Beyond, 172
William Finnegan
The Discarded Factory: Degraded Production in the Age of the Superbrand, 189
Naomi Klein
The Positive Effect of Trade on U.S. Jobs, 199
Ernest H. Preeg
America's Labor Pains, 203
Thomas L. Friedman
Where No Business Is Good Business, 205
Jack El-Hai
Dialogues withJames Fallows, 210
Michael Lewis and James Fallows
Mass of Newly Laid-Off Workers Will Put Social Safety Net to the Test, 216
Jason DeParle
Chapter 5. Ethics and Justice in the New Workplace, 219
Shock Absorbers in the New Economy, 221
Chris Benner
Scrubbing in Maine, 226
Barbara Ehrenreich
No Shame in (This) Game, 232
Katherine S. Newman
Abusive Child Labor Practices, 240
Linda Chavez-Thompson
New Ethics or No Ethics? Questionable Behavior Is Silicon Valley's
Next Big Thing, 243
Jerry Useem
Two Companies Battle High Turnover and Win!, 249
Deborah S. Roberts
SIDEBAR. Building Bonds, 251
Workplace Upheavals Seem to Be Eroding Employees' Trust, 253
Sue Shellenbarger
Chapter 6. Balancing Work and Family, 255
The Daily Grind: Catch a Break from a Stressed-Out World, 257
Ellen Galinsky
An Accident Waiting to Happen, 259
Ann Crittenden
Day Care Is Moving to the Night Shift, 269
Barbara Carton
Mommy-Track Backlash, 274
Alden M. Hayashi
Is Telework Coming of Age? Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Telework, 280
Carl E. Van Horn and Duke Storen
Work at Home? First, Get Real, 289
Susan B. Garland
Child Care, the Perk of Tomorrow? 293
Steven Greenhouse
The State of the Workplace for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgendered Americans, 2000, 295
Human Rights Campaign
SIDEBAR. General Description of Hewlett-Packard's Domestic Partner Benefits, 298
Should Washington Implement National Ergonomic Standards? 300
Edward Potter
Home-Office Debate Isn't New, 304
Eileen Boris and Nelson Lichtenstein
Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, 306
Communications Workers ofAmerica
Fishing for a Living Is Dangerous Work, 309
Dino Drudi
Logging Is Perilous Work, 316
Eric F. Sygnatur
What Is Stress and Why Is It Hazardous? 323
HR.com
Chapter 7. Technology on the Job, 327
The Knowledge Web, 329
Michael Moe
The Long Boom: Boom Fatigue, 337
Jon Gordon
Twelve Learning Interventions That Combat Technophobia, 339
Linda Ristow Puetz
E-Business 2.0: The Real Transformation Begins, 343
John Thompson
Rig de Rigueur: Eighteen Wheels and a Laptop, 350
Robert Strauss
A Vision of E-Learning for America's Workforce, 353
The Commission on Technology and Adult Learning, American Society of Training
and Development / National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
Chapter 8. The Changing Face of the Workforce, 361
Gray Flannel Suit? Moi? 362
Thomas Stewart
SIDEBAR. Escape from the Cult of Personality Tests, 369
New Opportunities for Older Workers, 372
Committee for Economic Development
Finished at Forty, 377
Nina Munk
SIDEBAR. Suspect Age Bias? Try Proving It, 386
The Working Caste, 388
Leah Platt
The H-IB Straitjacket: Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on
Foreign-Born Highly Skilled Workers, 396
Suzette Brooks Masters and Ted Ruthizer
Labor Movement: Mexicans Transform a Town in Georgia-and
an Entire Industry, 416
Joel Millman and Will Pinkston
A Nation at Work: The Heldrich Guide to the American Workforce
edited by Carl E Van Horn and Herbert A Schaffner
Rutgers University Press, 2003 eISBN: 978-0-8135-6767-9 Paper: 978-0-8135-3189-2 Cloth: 978-0-8135-3188-5
In the United States work underlies our very concept of who we are. Changes in society and technology have influenced how and where we work, and transformations within the workplace in turn have altered our society.
A Nation at Work addresses the fundamental economic, demographic, policy, and business facts about how the workforce and workplace are changing in the early twenty-first century. Illustrated with over thirty-five graphs, Part I covers essential topics about the American workforce and workers. Part II gathers essays and speeches from the nation's outstanding journalists and workplace analysts. The book incorporates facts and data, including invaluable tables and listings for useful Internet sites, books, and organizations.
Comprehensive in scope, A Nation at Work will help readers reach a better understanding about their own work and the world of work around them.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Herbert A. Schaffer is the director of communications, marketing, and publications for the Heldrich Center. Carl E. Van Horn is director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at the Bloustein School at Rutgers University. He has been director of policy for the State of New Jersey, senior economist at the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and director of the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I THE WORKFORCE, THE ECONOMY, AND PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 1. Social, Economic, and Demographic Trends, 3
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Pension Plans and Social Security, 27
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Poverty and Its Role in U.S. Policy, 37
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Unemployment Insurance and Low-Income Workers
in the New-Economy's First Recession, 50
Chapter 2. Recruiting, Educating, and Training the Workforce, 67
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: The Workforce Investment Act, 90
Chapter 3. Regulating the Workforce, 103
SIDEBAR. Policy Brief: Affirmative Action-Pros and Cons, 112
PART II THE ECONOMY AND THE WORKFORCE: A CRITICAL READER
Chapter 4. Globalization, Technology, and Trade, 127
Information Technology and the New Economy, 129
U.S. Department of Commerce
Notions of New Economy Hinge on Pace of Productivity Growth, 133
Louis Uchitelle
A Decade of Difference: The Newly Improved U.S. Economy, 137
Jack Guynn
Manufacturing's Place in the Twenty-first-Century Economy, 144
Leo Reddy
Manufacturing amidst Economic and Market Jitters-
Still America's Best Bet for Growth, 147
W. R. Timken Jr.
Shining Factory on a Mountaintop, 155
Nancy Mills
Stocks Matter, but Jobs Matter More, 160
E. J. Dionne Jr.
The Economic Importance of Improving Math-Science Education, 162
Alan Greenspan
What We Work for Now, 166
Jerome M. Segal
The Real Foundation of the Software World: Behind-the-Scenes
Programmers Are Bricklayers of Internet Economy, 168
Steve Lohr
The New Antiglobalists: Exploring the Psychology of Seattle,
Washington, and Beyond, 172
William Finnegan
The Discarded Factory: Degraded Production in the Age of the Superbrand, 189
Naomi Klein
The Positive Effect of Trade on U.S. Jobs, 199
Ernest H. Preeg
America's Labor Pains, 203
Thomas L. Friedman
Where No Business Is Good Business, 205
Jack El-Hai
Dialogues withJames Fallows, 210
Michael Lewis and James Fallows
Mass of Newly Laid-Off Workers Will Put Social Safety Net to the Test, 216
Jason DeParle
Chapter 5. Ethics and Justice in the New Workplace, 219
Shock Absorbers in the New Economy, 221
Chris Benner
Scrubbing in Maine, 226
Barbara Ehrenreich
No Shame in (This) Game, 232
Katherine S. Newman
Abusive Child Labor Practices, 240
Linda Chavez-Thompson
New Ethics or No Ethics? Questionable Behavior Is Silicon Valley's
Next Big Thing, 243
Jerry Useem
Two Companies Battle High Turnover and Win!, 249
Deborah S. Roberts
SIDEBAR. Building Bonds, 251
Workplace Upheavals Seem to Be Eroding Employees' Trust, 253
Sue Shellenbarger
Chapter 6. Balancing Work and Family, 255
The Daily Grind: Catch a Break from a Stressed-Out World, 257
Ellen Galinsky
An Accident Waiting to Happen, 259
Ann Crittenden
Day Care Is Moving to the Night Shift, 269
Barbara Carton
Mommy-Track Backlash, 274
Alden M. Hayashi
Is Telework Coming of Age? Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Telework, 280
Carl E. Van Horn and Duke Storen
Work at Home? First, Get Real, 289
Susan B. Garland
Child Care, the Perk of Tomorrow? 293
Steven Greenhouse
The State of the Workplace for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgendered Americans, 2000, 295
Human Rights Campaign
SIDEBAR. General Description of Hewlett-Packard's Domestic Partner Benefits, 298
Should Washington Implement National Ergonomic Standards? 300
Edward Potter
Home-Office Debate Isn't New, 304
Eileen Boris and Nelson Lichtenstein
Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, 306
Communications Workers ofAmerica
Fishing for a Living Is Dangerous Work, 309
Dino Drudi
Logging Is Perilous Work, 316
Eric F. Sygnatur
What Is Stress and Why Is It Hazardous? 323
HR.com
Chapter 7. Technology on the Job, 327
The Knowledge Web, 329
Michael Moe
The Long Boom: Boom Fatigue, 337
Jon Gordon
Twelve Learning Interventions That Combat Technophobia, 339
Linda Ristow Puetz
E-Business 2.0: The Real Transformation Begins, 343
John Thompson
Rig de Rigueur: Eighteen Wheels and a Laptop, 350
Robert Strauss
A Vision of E-Learning for America's Workforce, 353
The Commission on Technology and Adult Learning, American Society of Training
and Development / National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
Chapter 8. The Changing Face of the Workforce, 361
Gray Flannel Suit? Moi? 362
Thomas Stewart
SIDEBAR. Escape from the Cult of Personality Tests, 369
New Opportunities for Older Workers, 372
Committee for Economic Development
Finished at Forty, 377
Nina Munk
SIDEBAR. Suspect Age Bias? Try Proving It, 386
The Working Caste, 388
Leah Platt
The H-IB Straitjacket: Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on
Foreign-Born Highly Skilled Workers, 396
Suzette Brooks Masters and Ted Ruthizer
Labor Movement: Mexicans Transform a Town in Georgia-and
an Entire Industry, 416
Joel Millman and Will Pinkston