When Work Doesn't Work Anymore: Women, Work, and Identity

by Elizabeth Perle Mckenna

In this groundbreaking book, Elizabeth Perle McKenna challenges the outdated system of work for professional women, and encourages readers to re-examine work as their sole identities, and, if they are unhappy, to allow room for their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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Sociology

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 1998

Reviews

[Britta Böhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published almost 25 years ago and not dated one bit. Very little has changed, obviously. Sigh.

[Christine Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago when I was ready to make a change and move out of real estate as a career. As I noted in the margins of the book, this read was an interesting look at my job history. However this time I was reading it to decide about leaving the work field totally and retiring. While it didn’t really answer the question about whether I should just take the leap and retire, it did remind me of how I have taken control of my career. No longer do I report to the office, punch a time clock, answer phone calls that drive me crazy; now I work from home at my choosing of the eight hours I give. So while I don’t know if I should retire or not, today! I do understand the leaps I have made in finding a successful job that works for me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It sort of highlighted for me that there is no perfect path, and you can't have it all, so you might as well just figure out what works best and not feel to guilty or bad about it.

[Simona Calò · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'ho apprezzato con riserve. Risente dei decenni trascorsi e della prospettiva americana del racconto, dove la concezione del lavoro è insana e la gente pensa di definire con il proprio lavoro quello che è.
Curiosamente, ci troviamo a distanza di anni in un periodo in cui fioriscono riflessioni simili su come ripensare a un sistema lavorativo che ci distrugge, il che in qualche modo sottolinea l'attualità di questo saggio.
Dal mio punto di vista ci sono valide analisi sul lavoro delle donne, che comprendono lavoro di cura, femminismo, maternità e importanza dello sviluppo personale. Il problema è che si occupa quasi esclusivamente di persone benestanti con lavori di rilievo e affronta solo parzialmente il peso delle condizioni economiche nella libertà di prendere decisioni che rivoluzionano il rapporto con il lavoro.
Il femminismo, poi, manca di concretezza e attualità dei temi odierni, rivelandosi per una forna di neoliberismo alla Sheryl Sandberg, dove contano i risultati personali e non quelli di un movimento.
Interessante, ma parziale come tutti i punti di vista incapaci di allargare lo sguardo sugli aspetti globali che riguardano un tema vitale.

[Dorine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a graduate in 2020, I really liked this book. While published when I was born (1996), it still has a lot to say about women in the workforce nowadays, how women are changing work, ambition, dreams and dillemma's we still struggle with today. Some bits were a bit redundant, there is quite some repetition in this book. It also sometimes reads a little bit american-white-suburb-feminishy, but considering it was written 20 years ago it does make sense that it isn't very intersectional and inclusive. That aside, it still made me pause and think about what work is, what it means to me and what I expect from it, how I want to change it for the better. I think that's still something we need to think about today.

[Thatiane Corbellini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro corajoso, que desafia as convenções sociais e, possivelmente, seria mal compreendido pelas patrulhas das redes sociais. Se a leitora tiver um bom auto conhecimento pode ser de extrema utilidade, como foi para mim, durante uma transição de identidade de carreira. Ótimos insights, me sinto menos solitária neste momento reflexivo da vida.

[Wisal Albulushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Women have to give up part of themselves to be safe and accepted within society."

"Work will never work unless we change the way we value success and the way we judge ourselves toward it."

"Our sense of self, drawn from more places in our lives, will give our work less power over us."

"Work has to be only one tile of the mosaic of life's meaning."

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts were good, parts seemed suited for baby boomers, as opposed to my generation. Redundant at times, but informative at times also.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

wish she had spent more time on how to try to change the obvious....but it was validating none the less.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting