Anti-Wage-Slavery, Pro-Freedom Quotations Of The Week 445-448

Dr. Diane Fassel and I wrote The Addictive Organization. Since the publication of that book, thousands of people have spoken or written to us about their recovery and what has happened to them in their addictive organizations as a result of their personal recovery. Their words differ, and the stories are essentially the same. They go like this: I’m an addict, alcoholic, workaholic, whatever kind of addict, it doesn’t matter. I‘m in recovery, and feel good about my recovery, it’s going well—my life has really I improved, and I basically feel happy. Because of my recovery, and I believe, the changes in me, my family is changing. We are all actually getting better.

But I am not sure that I can maintain my sobriety and continue to work in my addictive workplace. If I really put my sobriety first, I cannot continue to work where I do.

Often I suggest to these people that they attend Al-Anon, with the workplace as the addict in their lives. As I talked with people about their sobriety and what they needed to do to stay healthy, I found some interesting phenomena emerging. As people get healthier, they are no longer able to support the level of pathology that is present in their workplace. One of two things usually happens—as the individuals get healthier than the system in which they work, they either leave and start their own entrepreneurial efforts, or they get fired. They cannot stay and remain sober; and the workplace cannot tolerate persons who no longer support the pathology of the organization.
Anne Wilson Shaef
Beyond Therapy, Beyond Science


When we sell our time at the job, someone else then "owns" our time; within certain limits, it is the bosses' to do with as they want. But we are not disconnected from our time. We either have to pretend we are, and so drift through the working day by imagining we are somewhere else, daydreaming, or we have to admit that the central and governing hours of our daily life are not our own.
Tom Wayman





Who first invented work, and bound the free
And holyday-rejoicing spirit down
To the ever-haunting importunity
Of business in the green fields, and the town-
To plough, loom, anvil, spade - and oh! most sad
To that dry drudgery at the desk's dead wood?
Charles Lamb