The Liberated Workplace: Transitioning to Walden Three

It was B.F. Skinner's utopian novel Walden Two, written in 1948, that opened the door to thinking about how we need not analyze internal motives and personalities to manage people, but should instead analyze and improve their work environment. Today's work environment, however, brings with it complex challenges particularly as it relates to employees; are they engaged, happy, and contributing as they should to the overall success of the organization? Unfortunately, many organizations still employ a bureaucratic structure for managing people. With this command-and-control management, organizations are finding it difficult to move ahead and stay competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.

In The Liberated Workplace, author Dr. Bill Abernathy, Ph.D. describes a practical and proven transition strategy that enables organizations to evolve from a conventional, bureaucratic wage-and-salary system to a self-managed workplace; one that enjoys the benefits of increased productivity and a committed and creative workforce. This book incorporates the latest behavioral research and findings and provides an alternative that reduces aversive control, increases employee earning opportunities, and allows for flexible work schedules leading to true employee engagement.

Readers of The Liberated Workplace will be convinced of the need for a self-managed workforce and are provided with a step-by-step guide for changing the systems and structures that inadvertently support outdated management approaches. Clearly detailed and illustrated using the fictional Superior Button case study, this book gives realistic hope for a modern workplace that embraces technology, personal accountability, and the freedom of individuals to control their work environment not at the expense of the organization, but to its benefit. Topics covered in this book include: -Issues with the conventional workplace -Transition strategy toward a Liberated Workplace -Improving management practices -Moving to self-managed employees -Results and the future