When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity [Paperback]

Elizabeth Perle McKenna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 1998

In this groundbreaking book, Elizabeth Perle McKenna challenges the outdated system of work for professional women, and encourages readers to re-examine work as their sole identities, and, if they are unhappy, to allow room for their Lives. For every worn-out, emotionally depleted female professional who has ever sighed, "there has got to be a better way," here is the revolutionary book by Elizabeth Perle McKenna--herself a former publishing executive--that explores women's relationship with work. For decades, women have succeeded at traditional male jobs, but now, deep in the second stage of the feminist movement, they want lives that are integrated and whole. Based on original research and containing hundreds of interviews with prominent working women, this book exposes the inherent conflict between the way work traditionally is structured and rewarded, and what women desire and value in their lives. More important, it suggests new ways for women to identify their values, reclaim their identities, and define success on their own terms. Most importantly, this is not just another book about working mothers. Liz Perle McKenna deconstructs the myth that women can have it all, and shows that they risk true happiness until they give up that impossible ideal. The author's focus extends to every working woman who will most likely face a life-altering situation at some point in her career and will need to redefine what success means to her. Any woman who has been working for more than a few years will identify strongly with the issues raised here, and will be rewarded by the insights she gleans from this vital book.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Why aren't career women happy? A publishing executive disputes the worth of traditional male ideas of success.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

An accurate, though imperfectly analyzed, account of an unfinished revolution. After 18 years of driven work (serving as associate publisher of Bantam and publisher of William Morrow and other houses), McKenna walked into her boss's office and quit her job. She was successful according to all the conventional measures of career success. But she was miserable. Feeling she had to choose between her work and her life, she chose her life. McKenna convincingly argues that the women's movement opened up the world of work to women but didn't change a culture hostile to the realities of women's lives. Even though women are pressured, like men, to identify completely with work and sacrifice everything to it, they are still expected to succeed on traditionally feminine terms--to marry, to have children, to be perfect wives and mothers. Neither the workplace nor the larger society has done much either to alleviate those expectations or to help women live up to them. McKenna interviews other women about their work experiences and analyzes their stories along with her own. Part self-help book, part social criticism, part feminist manifesto, this volume drags at points; it's repetitive, and it's also weakened by her continued reliance on the notion that the values of the work world--i.e., competition, success as defined by money and status, etc.--are somehow at odds with ``women's values''--cooperation, caring, relationships, etc. It's a familiar idea, but one that has inspired much controversy and needs to be argued carefully or approached critically, not taken as a given. After all, especially in this era of huge conglomerates and a bottom-line business mentality, many men are frustrated with their jobs for some of the same reasons that McKenna was. For all its theoretical fuzziness and scattered organization, much of McKenna's analysis is sound--and timely. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Delta (August 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385317980
• ISBN-13: 978-0385317986
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for female executives, November 20, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity (Paperback)

As an executive coach and psychologist, I have provided this book to several of my clients. The overwhelming feedback is positive. Many have changed their lives (or at least their perspectives about work) as a result of further exploring the themes in this text. Most comment -- "I am not alone. Many people feel the way I feel." This book should be a business best seller. My hats off to the author for her research.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing, December 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity (Paperback)

I knew something was wrong - for years I "played the game" in Corporate America, but it was no longer enough. I read McKenna's book one Friday night...there it was in black & white...the validation of all I was feeling. That weekend I mourned the loss of a life that had become all-consuming, and began the journey to build a better life. It took 4 months and much soul searching, but I resigned from my high powered, Fortune 500 company position, and am now well on my way to the life I always dreamed about. I've sent copies of the book to all my stressed-out, "there must be a better way" girlfriends in Corporate America. It's a must read if you've ever wondered "at what price, success?"

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Book Set Me Free, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work and Identity (Hardcover)

I had a baby in early 1997 and have been struggling since then with juggling my high-powered executive level job with my family and my own needs. This book was the catalyst in my life for making a change to a low-pressure, individual contributor job which allows me to flex my hours on a daily basis and doesn't penalize me for wanting a life outside of work. My next step is to go to part time work, which is what will really fit with my goals for my life. I would never have taken the risk of jumping off the fast track if I hadn't read this book