Dying for a Paycheck, published by HarperBusiness and released on March 20, maps a range of ills in the modern workplace — from the disappearance of good health insurance to the psychological effects of long hours and work-family conflict — and how these are killing people.
“Job engagement, according to Gallup, is
low. Distrust in management, according to the Edelman trust index, is
high. Job satisfaction, according to the Conference Board, is low and
has been in continual decline. The gig economy is growing, economic
insecurity is growing, and wage growth overall has stagnated.Fewer
people are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance than in the
past, according to Kaiser Foundation surveys. And a strikingly high
percentage of people, even those covered by insurance, say they forgo
treatment and medications because of cost issues.I look out at the workplace and I see
stress, layoffs, longer hours, work-family conflict, enormous amounts of
economic insecurity. I see a workplace that has become shockingly
inhumane.…And obviously these workforce things that
cause ill health do not fall equally on the population. If you are less
educated, you have more economic insecurity, the likelihood of receiving
benefits is lower, your ability to control your work hours and your job
are worse, and so health outcomes are worse. But I didn’t think it
would be as bad for as many people.I didn’t think the workplace would be the
fifth leading cause of death in the United States. And, by the way, when
I talk to HR people, they say the numbers we have are certainly wrong:
They are too low.”
The Workplace Is Killing People and Nobody Cares
Published
Organized Chaos 