How can you design your work life so it
is an expression of your gifts and makes a contribution to the world?
How can you make your time at work meaningful?
True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do by Michael and Justine Toms, Bell Tower, 1998
Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design by Laurence G. Bouldt Penguin 1999
In
addition to typical career development material, this book tells you
how to start a business, work freelance, establish a nonprofit
corporation, manage multiple careers.
Vein of Gold: A Journey To Your Creative Soul by Julia Cameron, Putnam 1996
Essays
on the creative process and more than 100 tasks that involve the reader
in "inner play," leading to growth, renewal, and healing.
Unjobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook by Michael Fogler, Free Choice Press, Lexington, Kentucky, 1999
How
to reclaim a life in alignment with your values - ideas, resources, and
inspiration on how to do what you really want to do and still make ends
meet.
The New Careers Center: Resources for Career Directionprovides
a variety of career development resources, including The Whole Work
Catalog. Their web page includes links to different categories of
careers; assistance in career planning and development; resume writing,
job hunting and interviewing; colleges and alternatives; as well as a
variety of videos.
1515 23rd St., PO Box 339-RD, Boulder, CO 80306 (800) 634-9024 www.wholework.com
Bring Your Soul To Work: An Everyday Practice by Cheryl Peppers and Alan Briskin, Berrett-Koehler, 2000
How to link your work life to your spiritual life.
The Late Bloomers Guide to Success at Any Age by Susan Sully, HarperCollins, 2000
Filled with exercises and worksheets, this book helps you set a direction for yourself and start moving.
Mindfulness and Meaningful Work: Explorations in Right Livelihood edited by Claude Whitmyer, Parallax Press, 1994
Essays
by Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, Sam Keen, E.F. Schumacher, Gary
Snyder, and others on mindfulness and ethics in the workplace.
Success Teamsis
an approach to setting and achieving goals promoted by Barbara Sher,
author of Wishcraft and Teamworks, and the subject of the public
broadcasting production Creating Your Second Life After 40. Success
teams are small groups of friends and associates who help each other
achieve their goals.
Here's what you can do to negotiate a flexible work schedule that can help you balance your life.
WorkOptions.comshows
how to slow down a hurry-up lifestyle by negotiating flexible work
arrangements at your current job. It provides assistance in receiving
approval for telecommuting, job sharing, and a part-time or a
compressed workweek arrangement.
Overview on who is doing what to move toward reduced work time.c/o Barbara Brandt, 69 Dover St #1, Somerville, MA 02144 (617) 628-5558
Shorter Work Timewebsite links to related activities of all sorts. www.swt.org
Free Time/Free People Projectis
an interfaith movement that advocates reduced work time. Their "Free
Time Free People Statement"was developed by an interreligious
consulting committee initiated by
The Shalom Center, 6711 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19119 www.FreeOurTime.org.
Work Without End: Abandoning Shorter Hours for the Right to Work and Kellogg's Six Hour Day by Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt Temple University Press, 1988, 1996 respectively
The effects on workers and community when Kellogg instituted its wildly popular 6-hour day during the Depression.
Running Out of Time: Time Pressure, Overtime, and Overwork
A
one-hour PBS documentary on the history of time, work, and leisure from
primitive societies to today; solutions to "time famine", including
"downshifting",job-sharing, and shortening the work week. Hosted by
NPR"s Scott Simon. Available from
Films for the Humanities & Sciences, PO Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543, ( 800) 257-5126, www.films.com
The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure,and The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer by Juliet B. Schor, Basic Books, 1992, 1998 respectively
No,
it's not your imagination. We really are working harder and longer;
Juliet Schor (see page 17) documents what has happened to the American
way of life. The Overspent American addresses the question, "If people
don't like to be overworked, why do they put up with it?" Competitive
consumption, debt, ad blitzes all contribute (see roundtable with Schor
in YES! #6, Summer 98)
organizing
Unionize
at work. Advocate for a living wage. Provide opportunities for
society's have-not's - some ways to work together and make it happen.
Want to organize a union at your workplace? The AFL-CIOis a good place to start.
Fear at Work: Job Blackmail, Labor, and the Environment by Richard Kazis and Richard L. Grossman, New Society Publishers, 1991
Shows the myth behind the jobs-versus-environment argument and how people are organizing for both.
United For a Fair Economyprovides
data on the division between have's and have-not's, a manual for living
wage campaigns, a report on why paying a living wage is good for
business, and more.
National Jobs for All Coalitionadvocates
meaningful employment for all as a precondition for a fulfilling life.
Publishes articles and pamphlets on such subjects as social security,
full employment, labor unions, and the under-counting of the
unemployed.
475 Riverside Drive, Room 554, New York, NY 10115, (212) 870-3449, www.njfac.org/
ownership
You
can create a business that works for employees, community, suppliers,
and the Earth. And you can avoid, to some degree, getting buffeted
about by the stock market and the global economy. Here are some ways to
build alternative livelihoods.
Center for Labor and Community Researchassists
labor, business, and communities in pursuing the "high road" - a
participative and productive economy that enhances social justice. (See
article on the high road on page 28).
3411 W. Diversey Ave., Suite 10, Chicago, Il 60647, (773) 278-5418, www.clcr.org
The National Center for Employee Ownership,
a nonprofit membership and research organization, provides information
on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), broadly granted employee
stock options, and employee participation programs. Their website
includes links to employee ownership resources.
1736 Franklin St., 8th Flr., Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 208-1300, www.nceo.org/
The ICA Groupis
a national not-for-profit organization that assists those starting
worker-owned and community-based businesses, and supports employee
buy-outs of existing companies.
Grassroots Economic Organizing (GEO)Provides
information on worker cooperatives, sustainable community enterprises,
and grassroots economic organizing. Publishes a bimonthly newsletter,
books, and directories, including An Economy of Hope, a state-by-state
directory of alternatives.
177 Kiles Road, Stillwater, PA 17878, (800) 240-9721, www.geo.coop
In Business: Creating Sustainable Enterprises and Communities, a bi-monthly magazine featuring innovations businesses around the US and the world.
Reduce your expenses, cut your debt, live more simply, and you've got lots more options. Here are some ideas.
The Simple Living Networkis
a website that provides tools and examples for those who are serious
about learning to live a more conscious, simple, healthy, and
restorative lifestyle.
The New Road Map Foundationpromotes
financial integrity and financial independence as a route to health and
social revitalization. Their best-selling book, Your Money or Your
Life, coauthored by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, provides a
step-by-step guide to getting your household finances in line with your
values; many have used it to discover how to free themselves of
dependence on a paycheck.
Seeds of Simplicityprovides
diverse educational materials on free- thinking for children and adults
and coordinates the services of the Simplicity Circles Project
CarSharing.Networkis
a website on an alternative to owning a car, which is the second
largest expense in many household budgets. Car co-op members pay a
small membership fee and then only pay when they actually use a car.
The website has links to car co-ops in cities throughout the world.
Carfree Cities by J.H. Crawford International Books, 2000
The
book unapologetically argues that modern car usage is an example of
technology that has been inappropriately applied Ñ and that the time
has come to reclaim city streets for human activity. The author has
established an impressive website that provides resources for those
interested in carfree living, and an email newsletter, Carfree Times.
Get A Life: How to Make a Good Buck, Dance Around the Dinosaurs, and Save the World While You're At It. by Wayne Roberts & Susan Brandum, Get a Life Publishing House, 1995
A
practical, fun, and radical approach to making your life what you want
it to be while saving the Earth. Full of stories, how-to's, and contact
information.
child care
How to Organize a Baby-sitting Cooperative by Carole Terwilliger Meyers, Carousel Printing, 1976
In
a baby-sitting cooperative, a group of parents exchange child care with
one another, usually in their own homes; no money is involved.
Urban Shipley's
website includes a number of links to baby-sitting cooperatives and
related resources. The site is also a resource for those interested in
job sharing.
National Association of Child Care Resources and Referral Agenciesis
a national network of community-based child care resource and referral
agencies. The association's newsletter, The Daily Parent, provides
information on child development, tips for finding quality child care,
and resources for busy parents and child-care professionals. The
network assists in finding child care resource and referral agencies.
1319 F Street NW, Ste. 500, Washington, DC 20004 (202) 393-5501 www.naccrra.org
education/ volunteering
Learn
a new trade. Travel the world and make a contribution. Get an education
that prepares you for service. Here are some starting points.
Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Directory of Third World & US Volunteer Opportunities edited by Phil Lowenthal, Stephanie Tarnoff, & Lisa David Food First, 1996
This
guide includes more than 90 voluntary service organizations providing
long- and short-term opportunities to serve and study abroad. It
includes practical pointers on how to find or create the best service
experience to suit you.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areasprovides
technical assistance on sustainable farming practices, alternative crop
and livestock enterprises, innovative marketing, and links to farm
apprenticeships for would-be farmers.
PO Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702, (800) 346-9140
At the Action Without Borders, Inc.
website, you can search 20,000 nonprofit and community organizations in
150 countries for volunteer and internship opportunities. YouÕll also
find a nonprofit career center, with hundreds of job and internship
listings. Also, links to web resources for managing and funding a
nonprofit organization. An excellent resource!
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6614, New York, NY 10118, (212) 843-3973, www.idealist.org/
The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliancesupports
a new generation of innovators through information and advice on
curricula designed to teach creativity, invention, entrepreneurship;
intellectual property; and technology resources. (See article on
eco-entrepreneurs on page 29.)
100 Venture Way, Hadley, MA 01035, (413) 587-2172 www.nciia.org
University of Creation Spirituality
Matthew
Fox's university is a place where people in various professions find
renewal and a new sense of purpose. (See his article on page 34.)
2141 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 835-4827
Volunteer Matchwill match your interests with volunteer opportunities near to you. www.volunteermatch.org/
Making a Difference: College & Graduate Guide, and Making a Difference: Scholarships for a Better World by Miriam Weinstein, New Society Publishers, 2000
Helps
you find college environmental programs, service learning institutions,
and alternative courses within traditional universities. The companion
guide provides information on scholarships for students interested in
education for careers working for a better world. It also describes
awards and fellowships for people (not necessarily students) doing
meaningful work in the nonacademic world.
in-home businesses
A
home-based business can save start-up costs, keep you close to family,
reduce your commute, and give you the flexibility to try something new.
American Association of Home-Based Businessesprovides
a variety of resources, including newsletters, tip sheets, forums,
chats, information on how to operate your home-based business
efficiently and effectively, and the latest information on federal
legislation that could affect your business.
PO Box 10023, Rockville, MD, 20849, fax: 301/963-7042 www.aahbb.org
community exchange
One
way to get free of the world of meaningless jobs is to do more outside
the for-profit economy. Here are some resources for starting a
not-for-profit company, supporting local farmers and artisans, and
bartering.
Co-op America'sNational Green Pages
can help you find green businesses; its Financial Planning Handbook
helps you manage your money in socially responsible ways.
1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006 1-800-58-Green www.coopamerica.org
EF Schumacher Societyapplies
the values of human-scale communities and respect for the natural
environment to economic issues. The society helped to initiate an
innovative local micro-lending program called SHARE; members authorize
their local bank to use the funds in their savings accounts as
collateral for loans to people who own or want to start local
sustainable businesses. This organization is also a wealth of
information on local money systems, community land trusts, and other
sustainable local economic innovations.
Ithaca Hoursis
one of the best-known local currency groups. The community printed its
own currency as a way to build community and keep resources flowing
locally. The group sells a Hometown Money Starter Kit ($25) and a video
about Ithaca Hours ($15).
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