The Career Mystique: Cracks in the American Dream

(Paperback)

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Description

The Career Mystique examines taken-for-granted rules of the career game - that continuous, full-time, hard work pays off - deeply embedded in the American Dream. Possibilities of fulfilling the career mystique are dwindling, given insecurities and risks of a global economy, strains and double demands on the job and at home, uncertainties and ambiguities around retirement. This outdated myth stands in the way of fashioning innovative policies more in keeping with life in 21st century America. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Reviews

In this compelling, clearly written, and well-researched book, Moen and Roehling make the best case I've seen for sustainable careers. If it's good for the environment, why shouldn't we do it for human beings A powerful idea whose time has come. -- Arlie Hochschild, author of The Commercialization of Intimate Life and The Time Bind
The book provides interesting details, including international examples and excellent references. Highly recommended. * Choice Reviews *
Worthy of attention. * PsycCRITIQUES *
Provokes a great deal of reflection in the reader, challenging us to think in new ways about a plethora of interconnected aspects of the social world. An accessible sociological text. * Work, Employment and Society *
The Career Mystique is a chilling account of the mismatch between couples dreams and changing realities. Whether at work or at home, at any stage of adult life, nothing can be taken for granted anymore. This excellent book led me to conclude that we can no longer be complacent about the crisis we are in as family members and employees. -- Rosanna Hertz, Luella LaMer professor of sociology and womens studies, Wellesley College

Author Bio

Phyllis Moen holds the McKnight Presidential Chair of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of Working Parents and Women's Two Roles and editor of It's About Time: Couples and Careers. She recently served as president of the Eastern Sociological Society. Patricia Roehling is professor and chair of the psychology department at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.