cover image Fake “Work”: Why People Are Working Harder Than Ever but Accomplishing Less, and How to Fix the Problem

Fake “Work”: Why People Are Working Harder Than Ever but Accomplishing Less, and How to Fix the Problem

Brent D. Peterson, Gaylan W. Nielson, . . Simon Spotlight, $25 (272pp) ISBN 978-1-4169-4824-7

Peterson, cofounder of the Work Itself Group, and Nielson, cofounder of the Ascent Group, seek to answer why people spend so much time doing so little real work—what they term a “fake” work phenomenon that mires employees in redundant tasks that result in low morale, cost overruns and organizational stagnation. While the authors nimbly dissect the problem, they fail to provide a road map for what they say is the most basic ingredient to doing “real work,” which is strategy ; they reiterate the importance of a organizational strategy and keeping priorities, but fail to provide any sort of blueprint for floundering organizations to develop that strategy. Instead, the authors cover a number of irrelevant topics—how to be a good listener, how to be a good manager and how to maneuver in corporate culture. This overambitious book wants to be all things to all people: advice to workers and tactics for managers, but after the tests and stories and steps, there is little analysis to uncover better practices and processes. (Jan.)