Overview

"New York Times bestselling author Dan Lyons exposes how the ""new oligarchs"" of Silicon Valley have turned technology into a tool for oppressing workers in this ""passionate"" (Kirkus) and ""darkly funny"" (Publishers Weekly) examination of workplace culture. At a time of soaring corporate profits and plenty of HR lip service about ""wellness,"" millions of workers--in virtually every industry -- are deeply unhappy. Why did work become so miserable? Who is responsible? And does any company have a model for doing it right? For two years, Lyons ventured in search of answers. From the innovation-crazed headquarters of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, to a cult-like ""Holocracy"" workshop in San Francisco, and to corporate trainers who specialize in . . . Legos, Lyons immersed himself in the often half-baked and frequently lucrative world of what passes for management science today. He shows how new tools, workplace practices, and business models championed by tech's empathy-impaired power brokers have shattered the social contract that once existed between companies and their employees. These dystopian beliefs--often masked by pithy slogans like ""We're a Team, Not a Family"" -- have dire consequences: millions of workers who are subject to constant change, dehumanizing technologies -- even health risks. A few companies, however, get it right. With Lab Rats, Lyons makes a passionate plea for business leaders to understand this dangerous transformation, showing how profit and happy employees can indeed coexist."

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9781549147050

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Reviews

I loved Dan Lyons' book Disrupted. With Lab Rats, he takes his critique of the modern workplace to the next level, to show how Silicon Valley's sometimes disturbing ideas about how to treat employees now pervade many workplaces. This is a fascinating, thought-provoking, hilarious, and sometimes harrowing account of current work culture. -- Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author Lab Rats...is hilarious, but not funny...Lyons gives Silicon Valley the thrashing that it, alas, largely deserves. But in the final third of the book, he offers us an effectively illustrated way out-an approach to work and business that puts people first, profitably serves customers, and makes the world a little bit better in the process. -- Tom Peters, New York Times bestselling author After publishing the New York Times bestselling Disrupted, Lyons heard from hundreds of readers distraught by their toxic work environments. Here he investigates why American workers are increasingly unhappy and what Silicon Valley has to do with it. -- Library Journal

After publishing the New York Times bestselling Disrupted, Lyons heard from hundreds of readers distraught by their toxic work environments. Here he investigates why American workers are increasingly unhappy and what Silicon Valley has to do with it. -- Library Journal Lab Rats...is hilarious, but not funny...Lyons gives Silicon Valley the thrashing that it, alas, largely deserves. But in the final third of the book, he offers us an effectively illustrated way out-an approach to work and business that puts people first, profitably serves customers, and makes the world a little bit better in the process. -- Tom Peters, New York Times bestselling author I loved Dan Lyons' book Disrupted. With Lab Rats, he takes his critique of the modern workplace to the next level, to show how Silicon Valley's sometimes disturbing ideas about how to treat employees now pervade many workplaces. This is a fascinating, thought-provoking, hilarious, and sometimes harrowing account of current work culture. -- Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author

Author Information

"Dan Lyons is the New York Times bestselling author of Disrupted. He is also a novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and public speaker. He was a staff writer on the first two seasons of the Emmy-winning HBO series Silicon Valley. Previously, he was technology editor at Newsweek and Forbes. He is the creator of the groundbreaking viral blog ""The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs"" (a.k.a. ""Fake Steve Jobs""). He has written for the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Wired. Dan Lyons is the New York Times bestselling author of Disrupted. He is also a novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and public speaker. He was a staff writer on the first two seasons of the Emmy-winning HBO series Silicon Valley. Previously, he was technology editor at Newsweek and Forbes. He is the creator of the groundbreaking viral blog ""The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs"" (a.k.a. ""Fake Steve Jobs""). He has written for the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Wired."

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