Work's Intimacy

Is your working life afflicted by an increasing taskload, the'coercive dimensions' of teamwork, longer hours, job insecurity andthe intrusion of labour into personal life? Then Gregg's brilliantbook, based on athropological research in Brisbane but of globalsignificance, will show you that you are not alone. Writing oforganisations that continue to demand unidirectional 'loyalty' fromtheir workers, and of a woman whose office contacted her on everysingle day of her maternity leave, Gregg conveys a coollycontrolled anger while coining powerful descriptions such as'function creep' and 'binge work'. Her interviewees, baffled buttrying, elicit our empathy, even those who have internalised thebrutalist jargon of the modern office. If I ever use 'progress' or'action' as a transitive verb, please shoot me. Steven Poole, The Guardian Author Melissa Gregg has put flesh on the bones of what manysuspected. Under the pretence of giving us the freedom to work atour own pace and wherever we choose, mobile phones, laptops and'tablet' computers have shackled us to our bosses' will in a waythat nothing has done since the treadmill. IrishTimes An engaging read that will chime with the experiences ofacademics and many other professional workers. TimesHigher Education A timely and important book, which raises essential questionsabout work, lifestyle, emotions and intimacy in the era of onlinetechnologies All interested in this book will not only findimportant scholarly discussion, but will also be made to rethinktheir own labour practices, priorities, and 'lives and loves'. Thismobilisation of achievement and accomplishment for rethinking ourown world, in which discourses of achievement and accomplishmentmonopolised all spheres of life, and in which the imperative tolove one's wok implies a troubling freedom is the effect of thisbook, which is at least equally important as the scholarlydiscussions it will trigger. Anthropological Notebooks An important book that will transform the way we think aboutboth work and intimacy. Rich, moving, and scholarly, Work's Intimacy looks set to become a new classic in thefields of cultural studies, gender studies and the sociology oflabour. Rosalind Gill, King's College London Gregg's remarkable analysis of the dispersed workplace couldnot be more relevant. It is a precious gift to scholars of modernwork, and it will also be invaluable to anyone struggling to meettoo many deadlines and balance too many obligations in pursuit of alivelihood today. Andrew Ross, author of Nice Work If You Can GetIt Based on a rich body of empirical research, Work'sIntimacy provides us with a troubling, insightful and timelyanalysis of the partnership between online technologies and thechanging mythologies of work - and its impact on our everydaylives. Melissa Gregg has written an important book, carefullyunpicking so much of what we have come to take for granted in ourexperience of the ever-expanding boundaries of the workinglife. Graeme Turner, The University of Queensland