Career

Working: 8 key ideas

by Studs Terkel

The core ideas of Working, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Ordinary workers tell their stories

   Terkel, a radio broadcaster, interviewed more than a hundred Americans about their jobs.

   In their own voices, they describe what they do all day and how they feel about it.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Work shapes identity

   Terkel's interviews show how deeply people's jobs affect their sense of who they are.

   Work is about meaning as well as money. In his account, many of his speakers describe their jobs as the main way they understand themselves.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   Many feel unseen

   Many of Terkel's speakers describe feeling invisible or unappreciated.

   They want recognition for what they do. In his account, the wish to be noticed and valued shows up again and again, whether in a factory, an office or a shop.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Pride appears in unlikely jobs

   Terkel shows workers taking pride in skilled and careful work, from stonemasons to waitresses.

   In his account, people in humble jobs often describe the satisfaction of doing something well. Their pride comes from care, not status.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Monotony wears people down

   Many workers describe the boredom and strain of repetitive tasks.

   In his account, doing the same small task over and over leaves many people tired in mind and body, and some say they feel like machines.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Every level has struggles

   Terkel includes executives, labourers and artists, showing struggles across all kinds of work.

   In his account, bosses, workers and artists each describe pressure, doubt and disappointment in their own way. Work shapes how people feel.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   People seek dignity

   Terkel's interviewees often speak of wanting dignity and respect at work.

   In his account, they ask not only for fair pay but also for a sense that their effort matters and that they are treated as people.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   The book captures an era

   Terkel's book records the working lives of Americans in the early 1970s.

   In his account, the interviews give a snapshot of the hopes and worries of that time, and later readers can compare them with their own.