Just Work

Starred review from January 11, 2021
It’s possible to create a workplace environment in which “everyone can collaborate and respect one another’s individuality,” advises CEO coach Scott (Radical Candor) in this timely guide for leaders struggling to address workplace inequity. Workplace injustice, Scott writes, “is actually six different problems: bias, prejudice, bullying, discrimination, verbal harassment, and physical violations.” In explaining each, she uses examples of bad experiences (her own and others’) and lays out the steps for building toward “just work,” a play on words meaning the space to focus on business, and an equitable environment. Scott explains the difference between bias, prejudice, and bullying, and offers appropriate responses for each: one effective way to deal with to bias, she writes, is to “use an ‘I’ statement to invite the person to see things from your perspective.” Scott includes success stories of organizations doing it right, such as OpenTable, whose CEO “made improving gender diversity a priority.” Scott refuses to let readers off the hook: “It’s simple, even if it’s not easy,” she insists, and “we can’t afford to screw around.” Urgent and actionable, this passionate manifesto will be a welcome addition to any leader’s desk.

February 15, 2021
Increasing awareness of workplace bias has led to a proliferation of books addressing fairness and equity. Just Work adds an important voice to this subject area, presented with thoughtful clarity and sensitivity. Scott draws from personal experience in a variety of industries to explain specific approaches that can make workplaces more equitable. The first part of the book addresses bias, prejudice, and bullying in the workplace, with practical suggestions to help people both recognize and counter each issue. Suggestions are tailored to different roles, such as leader, person harmed, person causing harm, and bystander/upstander. The next sections examine discrimination, harassment, and physical offenses, and discuss problems at the systemic level. Scott's advice is rooted firmly in common sense, with a nod to the realities of human nature (e.g., the tendency to rationalize bad behavior). She allows for the difficulty many people will have in coming to terms with workplace injustice, but she argues that it is well worth the discomfort for the myriad benefits to all involved. Recommended for general business collections and large public libraries.

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