The Joy of Work. Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-Workers has to be one of the best books Scott Adams has ever written. In my, opinion, of course. But then, that's what Ciao reviews are all about, our opinions!
This book should be required reading for every ... Read review
Scott Adams' latest work is not a collection of Dilbert cartoons (though recycled strips ... more
are liberally sprinkled throughout); it's a dialogue between the man and his fans disguised as a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving the corporate life. There are...
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Scott Adams' latest work is not a collection of Dilbert cartoons (though recycled strips ... more
are liberally sprinkled throughout); it's a dialogue between the man and his fans disguised as a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving the corporate life. There are chapters on "Office Pranks," "Surviving Meetings," and "Managing Your Co-Workers," with enough weird stories and practical jokes to make any middle manager nervous, especially as many of the tricks and tips come from e- mails sent to Adams by his fans (one tip: never let anyone else use your computer). If these messages are any indication, the creative tide has turned, and now the corporate world is following Dilbert's lead. In the office blocks of America, life is imitating art imitating life, creating a pleasantly postmodern working environment. The final chapter of The Joy of Work, "Handling Criticism," includes a response to Norman Solomon's The Trouble with Dilbert, which accuses Adams of selling out and supporting the corporate hierarchy that he claims to satirise. Adams' response is thorough and convincing, with just enough nastiness (jokes about Solomon's hair, for example) to demonstrate that though Dilbert may not have a mouth, he certainly has teeth. --Simon Leake, Amazon.com
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Advantages: Great book Disadvantages: Did you find yourself in it?
The Joy of Work. Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-Workers has to be one of the best books Scott Adams has ever written. In my, opinion, of course. But then, that's what Ciao reviews are all about, our opinions!
This book should be required reading for every business student and businessman and businesswoman in the world. For this book is more than just hilariously funny. It is also a deceptively subversive ... ...employment handbook in the form of a series of cartoons interlinked with Scott Adams' quirky, irreverent but always amusing writing style.
Read how happiness creates money. Well, except in times of an economic downturn. For then, points out Adams: "At the first sign of unauthorized mirth, you'll be downsize."
The book uses the Dilbert cartoons to explain bad management and bad workplace practices. There's the ... more
The Joy of Work. Dilbert's Guide to Finding Happiness at the Expense of Your Co-Workers has to be one of the best books Scott Adams has ever written. In my, opinion, of course. But then, that's what Ciao reviews are all about, our opinions!
This book should be required reading for every business student and businessman and businesswoman in the world. For this book is more than just hilariously funny. It is also a deceptively subversive book, too.
It is a business and employment handbook in the form of a series of cartoons interlinked with Scott Adams' quirky, irreverent but always amusing writing style.
Read how happiness creates money. Well, except in times of an economic downturn. For then, points out Adams: "At the first sign of unauthorized mirth, you'll be downsize."
The book uses the Dilbert cartoons to explain bad management and bad workplace practices. There's the perennial favourite, the pointy-haired boss. Can any bosses really be as stupid as Dilbert's? I'd like to believe not, but that would be like holding on to a belief in the Tooth Fairy, for I know that there are bosses almost as vacuous and as dangerous as Dilbert's pointy-haired boss. How do I know this? I, too, had a boss just like that a quarter of a century ago.
He had the unerring ability to say exactly the wrong thing at precisely the wrong moment. He knew when to make himself scarce should any problem look like occurring on his watch.
He always had the wrong solution to any given problem. His head was filled with technical information. Sadly it was all several decades out-of-date and from a totally irrelevant industry. (Sounding pointy-headed enough, already?)
Whenever he plucked up the courage to try to deal with a minor problem he had the surefire and deadly ability to turn any incident into a drama and any drama into a crisis. Was it Mr X, my one time manager who laid the seeds for my fascination with the world of Dilbert, but especially for The Joy of Work? You betcha! As our American cousins would say.
Adams devotes one section to "Dealing with irrational co-workers. As Adams puts it so succinctly: "Nothing can reduce your happiness faster than an argument with an irrational co-worker. You can't win irrational people over to your side by your superior reasoning abilities."
Sadly, that is so very true. But Adams then goes on to create what must be on of the best lines in any management book or cartoon book of all times: "Trying to win an argument with an irrational person is like trying to teach a cat to snorkel by providing written instructions. No matter how clear your instructions, it won't work."
Once, when trying to explain something to someone who was certainly giving all the appearance of being an irrational person, this line popped, unbidden, into my head. It was all I could do to stop from bursting out loud with laughter. Then I recalled Adams' answer to this type do problem: "your best strategy is to reduce the time you spend in that sort of situation." I decided to follow the Dilbertian path and just gave up on the explanation. After all, life's too short!
Other key points covered include: foolproof business predictions, managing co-workers, bringing humour and creativity to your job and how to avoid overwork.
There's also a deeply philosophical yet eminently hysterically funny section headlined: "You are wrong because…"
This consists of 32 ways (I'll bet some of your co-workers use at least a variation of some of these!) that people often resort to when their commonsense and logical bypass operation seems to be functioning at peak inefficiency. (Yes, inefficiency!)
I'll quote just two examples:
"3. I am the world. Example: I don't listen to country music. Therfore, country music is not popular."
"15: Circular reasoning. Example: I'm correct because I'm smarter than you. And I must be smarter than you because I'm correct."
You'll probably learn more about workplace interactions and business management theories by reading this book than you would with any other more "legit" text books. And you'll have a darn sight more fun, too!
Advantages: Finding pranks you can use at work Disadvantages: Some parts can be a bit boring
I came across this book when I borrowed it from my brother two years ago, I seem to still have it......oh well I'm sure he has another copy by now.
It is written by Scott Adams who is the author of three other books, The Dilbert principle, Dogbert's top secret management handbook and The Dilbert future.
This book is split up into 10 chapters each having different parts, they are - 1 - The joy of work -
Happiness creates money
Happy people get ... ...a stealth raise
2 - Managing your boss - Boss types
Boss-managing strategies
Avoiding being measured
3 - Reverse telecommuting - Internet connections
Cubicle sex rumours
Cubicle yoga
More sleeping tips
Multishirking
Pretending to work
Inventions needed
4 - Laughter at the expense of others - Yanking the chains of your co-workers
Starting false rumours for fun
Problems are entertainment in disguise
Infecting your co-workers
Wastebasket ...
sadiemelanie 23.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Advantages: Fun and interesting Disadvantages: Heavy on reader emails
Everybody wonders how they can best play tricks on their workmates, and thanks to the Joy of Work's magnificent office pranks chapter, we now have dozens of fun pranks to use. Scott Adams is witty and sarcastic as usual, and it is great to read. However, I felt that Adams had not put his usual effort into this book as he had with the Dilbert Principle and Dilbert Future. He has actually written very little (most of the pranks are reader's emails) ...
JaySee 14.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Advantages: Very accurate, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments Disadvantages: Good luck trying to read it at work during lunch!
“The Joy of Work” is simply one of the funniest books I have ever read. Furthermore it was given to me at a time when I was really fed up with my job, so a light-hearted look at the workplace was very much needed.
The book has it all. Filled with laugh-out loud moments and cartoon illustrations of what he is saying, Adams draws an accurate picture of office-life worldwide.
My favourite part happened to be the tales of workplace pranks. Lots of ... ...to undertake any of them (although wouldn’t it be tempting to tell your boss that her computer is overheating and that they need to fan it with a binder?!).
And for a clever, final touch if you buy the book in hardback you get a reversable cover which can allow you to get away with reading the book at work during a lunch hour – providing you can stop yourself from laughing (don’t plan on it!). ...
toneboy7 19.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams
For all of us who work in an office every day, this book is going to ring just a little bit too close to home. This is a hilarious take on modern office life, expounding the idea that the worst rise to the top, and giving strategies for avoiding those awful assigments you're always stuck with.
Basically, this is a narrative with a collection of cartoons to illustrate the points. Scott Adams isn't just an excellent, cartoonist, he's also a brilliantly ...
mikegray 21.06.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Advantages: A fantastic book Disadvantages: It's not free for office workers
“The Joy Of Work” is a brilliant look into the world of the office, giving practical and funny advice on how to remain sane during office hours. If I ever actually bother to get a job, then a copy of this book will sit in my desk draw all day and be used just when I feel like killing the next person I see to diffuse my rage and give me ideas on delightful pranks to pull on my fellow workers. The section on “Boss management” is essential for any office ...
onlineguitarhero2 06.09.2004 (14.09.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams
Product Information for "Dilbert: the Joy of Work - Scott Adams" »
Product details
Author
Scott Adams
Title
Dilbert: the Joy of Work
Series
Dilbert
Genre
Humour
Type
Fiction
ISBN
752217208
EAN
9780752217208
Manufacturer's product description
By the author of THE DILBERT PRINCIPLE another book featuring Dilbert and his cohorts, Dogbert, Ratbert and the Boss who evolved from Adams' personal experience of corporate culture as an applications engineer at Pacific Bell.
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