Book Review:

The myth of nine to five.
Work, Workplaces and Workplace relationships

by Ted Scott and Phil Harker
Reviewed by Gillian Vogl

The essence of the relationship between capital and labour remains the 
same. However the strategies of management are forever being re-developed, 
as the spin doctors work overtime. Ever so often it is worth a look at how 
the bosses are being trained, what ideas they are selling workers.

The Myth of Nine to Five is written by a former CEO and an applied 
psychologist, and promotes a particular management philosophy. It is 
directed largely at managers.

According to the authors, organisations should foster a human capacity for 
love and co-operation, rather than fear and competition. Organisations 
should be constructed in a way, which empowers employees and gives meaning 
to their work. While workplaces should do well commercially, they should 
care for their employees and be socially responsible. So say the authors.

Unfortunately, underlying this humane sounding text by Scott and Harker, is 
an acceptance of neo-liberal workplace changes as inevitable, modern and 
necessary and a disdain for any collective resistance to these changes.

After all this book is written very much in the self-interest of businesses 
and their managers, not workers.

There is nothing new about this management philosophy which has both 
produced and been produced by the changes that have been taken place in 
organisations over the last few decades. These changes have led to 
downsizing, work intensification, the increased casualisation of work and 
the diminishing rights and powers of unions to protect their workers. Very 
empowering indeed!

This book contains four sections with easy to read chapters, which 
concentrate on particular themes, all coming together to provide a very 
cohesive management philosophy.

The first section of this book focuses on individual psychology. Basically 
cognitive behavourial strategies helping people to "take responsibility" 
for themselves and their actions.

It also includes issues such as the teaching of self-acceptance and other 
factors, which help to create good interpersonal skills leading to 
effective team work.

Being a good team worker is seen as very important these days as there have 
been moves in workplaces to flatten out hierarchies and multi-skill 
workers.

This results in less middle layers of management and peer-imposed pressure 
to work harder and not take sickies. Through this type of team work and 
multi-skilling, organisations are able to get rid of workers, as one person 
can do the work of three.

The authors emphasise the importance of "empowering employees", creating a 
common purpose, making people's work "meaningful" and the adoption of a 
"vision" which regards workers as human beings and not just resources.

The authors discuss the importance of approaching situations with love 
rather than fear. The "love" approach results in a focus on the well-being 
of all (i.e. the employer) rather than just one's self.

The themes brought up in the first part of this book re-occur throughout 
the rest of the book at the level of individual behaviour and 
organisational behaviour.

In the second part of this book the authors claim that dysfunctional 
workplaces are ones where work has become meaningless and there is no trust 
between employers and mangers.

There is more talk of the need for productive work to be meaningful, of a 
common vision and focus, and "empowering" employees.

The loyalty and commitment which this warm and fuzzy vision is supposed to 
instil in workers is then often rewarded with forced redundancy.

But that does not bother the authors who offer tips for the inevitable job 
insecurity that we must all face, just make yourself more employable. Very 
helpful!

Scott and Harker, view job classification and the award system as old 
fashioned, arguing that security comes from workers maintaining their 
employability through continually learning and being flexible.

They claim unions are outdated and actually an impediment to effective 
performance in a modern global environment. It is not too hard to guess 
whose interests they have at heart.

The third section focuses on workplace relationships. This includes the 
importance of teams who self-manage. The creation of teams is viewed as the 
first move from ineffective work roles and organisations to workplaces of 
the future. The importance of continual learning is stressed.

The cold realities underlying the warm and fuzzy language, become clearer 
in the final part of the book.

"We must move away from an adversarial relationship to a collaborative one. 
Systems need to be adopted, and learning processes developed, so that 
employees can understand, in a way that can be easily and clearly 
demonstrated, that their own welfare is advanced by advancing the welfare 
of the enterprise."

In relation to change the authors state that "There must also be an 
acceptance that there will casualties in the change process and that these 
people must be handled sensitively and benevolently, not only for moral 
reasons, but also because the fear based ripple effects of not treating 
people well will impact back on the organisation."

"Modern working life is moving towards an amalgam of collective and 
individual work arrangements that the notion of a 'job' unduly constrains.

"While the proportion of the workforce in full time permanent employment 
will decrease, the overall amount of work available will increase. In the 
past, employers provided secure employment and expected loyalty in return.

"No employer in the future will be able to guarantee secure employment, and 
loyalty and commitment must be won by creating workplaces that treat people 
well and that have a social as well as economic purpose."

As the title The myth of nine to five suggests, if the authors and 
employers have their way, permanent 9-5 jobs will disappear.

Instead, workers will face long hours of underpaid, casual, insecure work 
or too few hours of low paid between periods of unemployment. The rhetoric 
of "employee empowerment", "love", and "common interests" between workers 
and their employers, in reality is just the opposite.

The needs and wants of employers are not congruent with those of workers in 
a system which is based on exploitation and inequality.

While unions may need to change to adapt to changing work structures in 
order to protect more workers, they are definitely not outdated and are 
needed now more than ever.

I don't think individual's livelihood and well-being at work, should be 
left up to the whims of CEOs, no matter how warm and fuzzy their strategies 
may sound on the surface.

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The publisher is Richmond Ventures Pty Ltd