Customer Reviews

Blue Monday: The Loss of the Work Ethic in America

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I looked forward to reading this book with great interest as I have noticed many of the issues that the author raises since moving to Cali and often wonder if the high school curriculum here overlooks the Puritan Work Ethic. Unfortunately, the points the author attempts to make are quite often drowned in a sea of unrelated unsubstantiated opinion. I know that the author is a college professor but it is clear from the writing that it was never passed by an editor or someone unafraid of offering an opposing opinion.

Although the book was published in 2000, it was first published in 1989 and unfortunately was not updated for 2000 so you will feel cheated. I remember the 80's as union dominated steel, iron, iron ore and auto industries all took a hit when hard-working Americans were allowed to purchase quality products from overseas businesses that offered serious competition. I remember the whining of huge billboards "Buy American, the next job you save might be your own!", the refusal of repair shops to work on foreign cars and Reagan fighting off the demands for protectionism as opposed to those American businesses changing their ways and producing quality products that Americans actually wanted. I remember my coworker offering me a ride in his brand new Ford Taurus and the windshield leaking in the rain and thanking myself for the intelligence to buy a Mazda after confirming that the model was made in Japan and not a compromise Japanese label with American labor. The author allowed me to recall all that in spades but he did so in a vacuum. I worked in Semiconductors then Computers and later Software. All of these new industries took the latest business techniques very seriously such as TQC - Total Quality Control where many things were measured and statistics were used to predict failures, Quality Circles where employees on the assembly line could and did offer suggestions for improvement, quarterly investments in new equipment and a paternalistic management that handled a 9 month industry downturn with a 10% pay and hours cut for wage earners but a more severe 10% pay cut for salaried earners that inspired the team to stay together avoiding layoffs as well as a need to rehire and retrain and build a new team when work picked up. I also remember profit sharing, IRAs and 401Ks that broke the shackles of company sponsored pension plans that tied labor to them no matter how poorly they performed and the turnover rates that rose to 25% and have never dropped forcing accountability as well as allowing for the easy formation of competing companies by ex-coworkers. My main beef with the author is that he focused on the well published dying industries yet ignored the growth of the new industries.

The book reeks of "Watch out for those Japanese" dogma which was common during the 80s but was forgotten in the 90s and here we are ten years after that fearing the Chinese. Many of the issues raised by the author against the Japanese or in comparison with them were very reflective of the times and the bibliography is quite reflective of that but many other issues are quite ridiculous and blissfully ignorant or shall we say stereo-typed. I won't call the author out for blatant racism but the lingering anger from WWII is present and it is clear that at best he is quoting the ignorance of others. Certainly, I do feel that he had not personally known anyone from Japan, visited Japan or even studied the language at the time of this writing. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that one can merely substitute the word Chinese for Japanese and continue reading. The issues we fear from China are much much different from the issues we feared from Japan 20-30 years ago. And yet now, how many Americans happily own Japanese cars, electronics, or video game systems? And how many happily purchase video games, comic books (manga) and watch movies or cartoons (anime)? Perhaps the future with China is much brighter than we currently imagine?

The book will probably seem incredibly ancient as it was written before cell phones, Internet, globalization, outsourcing and the demand that employees use computers on the job. It is further exasperating to read citations from the early 60s, 50s and even the 40s! (seriously) as if studies done at those times were somehow still relevant in 1989. Unfortunately, the author didn't have the courtesy to state that this is the most recent data on the topic at the time or to allow for possible change so he looks incredibly sloppy. Similarly, the writing style throws points out seemingly at random often embedding multiple different points into the same paragraph none of which are developed further later. When only some of such points have references in the bibliography, one is left wondering if the remaining points are merely conjecture. An editor would have been most helpful. The chapter on the dangers of TV somehow ignored cable and video games while ranting about the lack of educational content. Yet even my teachers used to remind us to watch insightful specials on PBS. One might also have referenced a popular TV ad of the time where a young man in the interview is flashing specific video game high scores on a resume to a hiring manager who is quite unimpressed preferring that the interviewee complete a science degree instead. One might have pointed out that numerous studies at the time suggested and still do that Japanese watch more TV than Americans. Both points were overlooked as they detracted from the left wing party agenda of the author: management bad, union good.

But the book was not all bad. It was nostalgic to remember the 80s. It was helpful to read that at least one cited researcher was comfortable sorting American poor into those willing to work, those willing to work occasionally and those delighted to lean on the welfare system heavily. Is that still relevant with the 90s rewrite of the welfare system under Clinton? I especially enjoyed the chapter on TV: numerous content bashing juxtaposed against the merits of Sesame Street. One wonders how the author would feel about that show now that it is heavily Spanish.

The birth control pill, the feminist movement, AIDS and surgeon general Koop's decision to teach sex in schools have definitely redefined the family unit and in many ways it is much smaller than before. Definitely, the worker of today needs to be better educated and capable of making better decisions than the worker of the past. If in doing so, earnings are directed towards entertainment of self by the purchase of expensive cars, clothing, travel and video games instead of larger and larger homes and cars for a family of 4-6 children, can it be respected as informed decisions rather than a narcissistic attitude that is the fault of an uncaring society unwilling to instill the ethics of hard work?

Has anybody else noticed that divorce is now encouraged over child abuse and spousal abuse? Or that alcohol and drug use on the job is not encouraged? Or that drinking and driving is actually penalized? Or that hostile work environments can be reported or the worker can switch employers? Or that sexual harassment on the job is punished? Or that sex and dating between coworkers is allowed? Or that poor decision-making by shallow executives can be rewarded with voluntary employee turnover to competitors? Or that leaving employees can take their pensions with them avoiding the all too common employer dip during economic downturns that too often was not reimbursed? It seems to me that in many ways, the American worker of the present is outdoing his predecessor. But it does beg the question: in an age of globalization where lack of war promotes competition, should we provide the same post-WWII level of opportunity and compensation to American working adults that do not or barely graduate high school or should we force them to learn what they need to know to survive in a world leading country?

In summary, the book assumes that America has taken an unrecoverable header but other countries will not, America will not improve with new industries or new technology and only Japan is worth measuring competitively. All of this turned out to be untrue. The author somewhat lazily referenced many works of others so if you are a history student or just curious about life at that time, this is an excellent place to start.