Finding Time

"In her brilliant, qualitative study of the high pressure work culture of engineers, Leslie Perlow gives us a picture of workers in a chronic sense of crisis, pelted by interruptions and too busy to help colleagues. This work culture sucks time out of workers' home lives, andhere's the surpriseit also hurts the bottom line. This is must reading for anyone who manages workers, and for any worker who's managed." -- Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of <I>The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work</I> "It's not how hard you work, it's how you workthis is the idea of Finding Time... As long as 'efficiency and effectiveness are simply not valued to the same degree as physical presence and sacrifices in life outside of work,' Perlow suggest, both corporation and employees will suffer." -- Judith Newman, New York Times Book Review "Perlow is an excellent storyteller. She captivates her readers through vivid and poignant accounts of the lives of the engineers, at times letting the anguished voices of the spouses be heard.... This well-written book addresses an important issue in today's workplace where people are being asked to work both harder and smarter.... Finding Time is worthwhile reading for a number of audiences. For researchers, it provides an excellent example of qualitative research. In addition, this book reminds individuals who are involved in implementing flexible work policies that, to be effective, such policies should be consistent with the organization's reward structure and cultural norms. It suggests to managers that they may wish to rethink their notions of productivity and what makes for a productive employee. For individuals whose work requires both individual effort and interaction with others, this book offers an innovative and practical solution for combating constant interruptions. Finally, to all of us,... this book presents an interesting opportunity to reconsider our personal definitions of success and what (or who) we are willing to sacrifice in the process of achieving success. Why win the (rat) race if there is no one at the finish line with you?" "Perlow's book goes beyond the usual 'solutions' to work/family conflicts to offer innovative and practical solutions that benefit both men and women at work and at home." -- Joanne Martin, Stanford University (Business) "Perlow's evidence from her extensive fieldwork for this book is reason enough to read it.... Finding Time will give the reader a close look at engineering work inside a large corporation and much to think about. The book is accessible to a broad range of readers, and it would be useful in graduate and undergraduate courses on work-related matters." -- Clifford L. Staples, Review of Radical Political Economics, September 1999 "There is often a negative effect on family life when professionals work long hours. Perlow sets out to determine if, in spite of the personal consequences, the corporation benefits when professionals work long hours.... The book tells the sad tale of a workforce that suffers the consequences of long hours under the assumption that accommodation to work demands will bring both personal and corporate success.... The author concludes that with long work hours there is so much wasted time through interruptions, time taken to help others or to be helped, and a constant crisis mentality that no one benefits. Perlow gives advice for improving the situation, including a shift from individual to team achievement." "This book is an elegant and readable argument for consideration of a real and contemporary social problem." "This study makes explicit a set of time dynamics that have been tough to grasp. The result is a vivid portrait of the vicious circles that often undermine our naive belief that time is something we can manage." -- Karl Weick, Univer

Leslie A. Perlow is Assistant Professor of Business at the University of Michigan.