The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate S [Paperback]

Anne Wilson Schaef (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 1990

Schaef and Fassel show how managers, workers, and organization members exhibit the classic symptoms of addiction: denying and avoiding problems, assuming that there is no other way of acting, and manipulating events to maintain the status quo.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Schaef ( When Society Becomes an Addict ) and Fassel (an organizational consultant) add a new dimension to our understanding of the institutions in which we live and work. They explain the reality of addiction, apply it to four levels of organizational behavior, and explore fully the negative effects of the active addict's and co-dependents' behavior in organizations. The authors describe how organizations act as addictive substances for employees by creating cultures of workaholism reinforced through reward structures, and how the organization itself can function as an active addict. Well written and sure to be controversial. Highly recommended for all management collections. Jane M. Kathman, Coll. of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A paradigm buster...as key to human wellness as Einstein's theory of relativity has been to modern physics." -- -- Phil Lane Jr., coordinator, Four Worlds Development Project

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1ST edition (September 14, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062548743
• ISBN-13: 978-0062548740
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars But don't expect the Company to Like it!, June 13, 2000

By 

Quaker Annie "reader" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate S (Paperback)

In many years in the Corporate life, I wanted the Company to understand that a lot of the problems management was having were caused by...surprise!...management.

This book is excellent in explaining to those of us who hate the insanity of corporate life what is happening and why, and possible remedies.

If you are working, or are listening to a friend or loved one complain over and over about office politics and craziness of different bosses, this book is a great read.

Even the authors, however, will tell you not to expect the Company to listen. They might nod and buy the book, pass them around HR and so on, but in essence, most mid- to large-sized corporations are so big that their dysfunctional behavior cannot be taken apart without the whole thing unfolding. (Or at least, that's what they believe, and so the urge to hold on).

The CEO of a dysfunctional company won't appreciate the insight that each company is as healthy or as ill as their top leader - the further away she/he gets from the goings on, the less s/he may be aware of this, and the less willing to hear this.

My advise is to read the book but expect no "cures". Reading this book helped my sanity (I took early retirement). Anyone suffering inside a corporation can start questioning, seriously, if they want to stay in this dysfunctional "family" (there may not be much of a choise)and if they can get out, start planning. Even if retirement or leaving is years away, planning helps. Get a life outside the Company. Also read "Crazy Bosses" and other books by Anne Wilson Schaef.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding insights and many missing links, July 21, 2001

By 

T. H. Russell (Payson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate S (Paperback)

The key insight I had when I read this book is that the behavior of organizations when they become "addictive" follows very predictable patterns. There is nothing unique about them. But to a society that is full of "addicts" who create addictive organizations, the principles revealed in this book will stir reactions and opposition. The book is almost too honest, and there lies its power. The book has many new insights and connections and is a lot of fun to read. I found myself chuckling often.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So what do you call normal?, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Addictive Organization: Why We Overwork, Cover Up, Pick Up the Pieces, Please the Boss, and Perpetuate S (Paperback)

It was refreshing to see an author who is willing to view organisations from a perspective of whether or not their culture would represent healthy living or not. The verdict is 'no'. Wilson Schaef and Fassel, by presenting organisational culture and inflluence as pervasive and abberent makes us rethink their place in our human psyche and society. A refreshing view, even if a rather disturbing conclusion. A good book to let go our inertia.