No-Collar: The Humane Workplace and Its Hidden Costs

By Andrew Ross

Book Overview

While the internet bubble has burst, the New Economy that the internet produced is still with us, along with the myth of a workplace built around more humane notions of how people work and spend their days in offices. No-Collar is the only close study of New Economy workplaces in their heyday. Andrew Ross, a renowned writer and scholar of American intellectual and social life, spent eighteen months deep inside Silicon Alley in residence at two prominent New Economy companies, Razorfish and 360hiphop, and interviewed a wide range of industry employees in other cities to write this remarkable book. Maverick in their organizations and permissive in their culture, these workplaces offered personal freedoms and rewards that were unheard of in corporate America. Employees feared they may never again enjoy such an irresistible work environment. Yet for every apparent benefit, there appeared to be a hidden cost: 70-hour workweeks, a lack of managerial protection, an oppressive shouldering of risk by employees, an illusory sense of power sharing, and no end of emotional churning. The industrialization of bohemia encouraged employees to think outside the box, but also allowed companies to claim their most free and creative thoughts and ideas. In these workplaces, Andrew Ross encountered a new kind of industrial personality, and emerged with a sobering lesson. Be careful what you wish for. When work becomes sufficiently humane, we tend to do far too much of it, and it usurps an unacceptable portion of our lives. He concludes that we should not have to choose between a personally gratifying and a just workplace, we should strive to enjoy both.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592131506
• ISBN13: 9781592131501
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Did the reader from Los Angeles read the book?

It doesn't appear that the reader from Los Angeles read this particular book; it seems he/she simply took this space as an opportunity to rant about Andrew Ross and other vaguely related issues. Ross's book is a nuanced look at the peculiar culture of the new media workplace, just as the golden years began to fade. Considering that Ross was not actually an employee of Razorfish, the main company in his case study, his perspective is surprisingly sensitive. After spending the dot-com golden years in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, I was prepared to scoff at an outsider's interpretation of what the new media workplace was like, and how it felt to be an employee of that workplace. I was further prepared to roll my eyes at his choice of exploring New York's new media world rather than making the trip to the heart of it all, the San Francisco Bay Area. But in the end I was impressed: he explains his reasons for choosing New York, and they make sense. And he hits the nail on the head in terms of what was most odd and most interesting--as well as most consequential--about the feel-good, creative, ambitious new media work environment. The book grows significantly more "readable" after the first few chapters give way to more anecdotal scene-setting and conversations with Razorfish employees.

More Than Insightful

Ross is always worth reading, and this book might just be his best so far. If it's not, it's certainly the best hands-on analysis of what the New Economy was like for the grunts in the office, and for those us who do knowledge work. No one else took the time he did (over a year) to go inside companies and talk to employees on the daily grind, week in week out. I'm mostly convinced by his conclusions about the perils of the humane workplace, though there's lot more to this book than that. The best thing is that he puts it all in the larger context of historical patterns of work in corporate America. No one, that I know of, has done that. And it's a great read, too.

Great Read

Great read. The author elucidates not only an industry but an age. The 1990s were exceptional and this book discusses several aspects of what contributed to that decade. He delves into labor issues, management styles, the informal workplace, real estate, artists-workers, and more. Ross also gives a peak inside two companies and provides a range of personalities from those workplaces. And, the intelligent yet cheeky writing style is worthy of note.

worthwhile

If you've worked in the new technology world in the 90s you should read this book. It will help you understand what happened and why you now realize your job wasn't all that.

Understanding the 90s workplace

No-Collar is excellent. As someone who worked in a dot.com during the 90s boom, I can really appreciate the in-depth analysis that Ross offers. Most people think that my job had to do with free massages and pinball machines, but Ross dispels the myth that work can be play. While my job was a lot of fun at times, Ross hits the nail on the head when he discusses the "hidden costs" involved. I also liked the way this book puts the dot.com world and its unique management style in the larger context of late 20th century labor issues.