Toxic Work

This targeted, practical manual gets down to brass tacks from its opening sentence: ""An estimated twenty million Americans are staying in jobs they hate in order to keep their health insurance-when research indicates that career dissatisfaction is more likely than anything else to make them need to use it."" Reinhold, a business consultant as well as director of career development and adjunct professor of psychology at Smith College, points out that there are plenty of good reasons for dissatisfaction in today's work force. Having begun by taking employee complaints at face value, she proceeds to offer concrete, sensible suggestions for alleviating them. While citing cases of work-induced health problems ranging from bronchitis to overweight, she illustrates how there is hope for even the most beleaguered worker in today's high-pressure business environment. What is most important, she stresses, is to identify what is really bugging you-whether it's anxiety, anger or lack of self-confidence-then take steps to allay those feelings and regain a sense of control over your life. To these ends she offers a variety of probing self-tests, illuminating case histories and sequenced, focused suggestions for transforming workplace problems into opportunities for growth. Footnotes and an extensive bibliography add to the riches. BOMC, Money Book Club and QPB featured alternate. (May)