Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources

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Book Review: Restoring the American dream: A working families' agenda for America
Rosemary Kelly
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 2006; 44; 383
DOI: 10.1177/1038411106072195
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Book reviews

workers and people with intermittent job histories (particularly women) are most
often the hardest hit.
Chapter 12 considers some of the theoretical explanations for the fragmentation and greater diversity in working life. Excess capacity and the ascendancy of
finance are seen as central to the overall long downturn (1970 to the present day)
in Australia and other countries such as the US, Japan and Germany. These developments have been characterised by growing wage inequality and low wage
sectors contributing to brief periods of unsustainable economic growth followed by
recession. The final chapter advances a reasoned plea for more pluralist and
searching debate on ways of intervening in the macro dimensions of economics
and working life. Overall, Fragmented futures provides a worthwhile collection
and insightful interpretation of recent empirical data on work in Australia and
thus is an important contribution to our understanding of trends within the
OECD countries.
Ashly Pinnington, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland

Thomas A. Kochan. 2005.

Restoring the American dream: A working families agenda for America
ISBN 0 262 11292 2, 272 pages; US$27.95. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press
DOI: 10.1177/1038411106072195

Professor Thomas Kochan is a renowned academic and researcher from MIT,

holding directorships at the Institute of Work and Employment Research and the
MIT Workplace Centre.
Kochans basic premise in the book is that in order to return to the dream
of good jobs, fair pay and opportunities for all based on the foundation of
traditional American values of justice, fairness, family and work, the onus is on
individuals within the workplace to stand up and be counted.
He describes the multitude of factors impacting on workplaces including
demographic changes in workers and their families, the diminishing power of the
union movement, the impact of globalization and the trend to offshore/outsource
jobs, the business case for flexibility, the growing importance of the knowledge
economy, and the significance of education and life-long learning as a concept that
he argues must be embraced. Ultimately he claims all of these factors have lead to
the emergence of the working poor who earn lower real wages than they did
20 years ago. He argues that the gap is widening between those who have and
those who have not to the point where he calls for individual workers and their
families to take action.
He outlines the perspectives of various stakeholders workers, their families,
business, government, unions and academics. His writing style is easy to read and
he includes personal recollections and actual business cases to exemplify his message.

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The book is obviously relevant to Australia as the landscape he describes is

apparent here as well as in the US. It has a particularly timely message because of
the anticipated adverse impact of Workchoices legislation on workers families
and worklife balance issues in Australian workplaces. Australian workers, like
those in the USA, are recording some of the longest working hours among OECD
countries, and the number of hours they are working is increasing.
Ultimately Kochans objective in writing this book to engage the American
public in the debate is unlikely to be met, because the average worker will
probably not read his writing. More likely it will be read by those working/
teaching/studying in the workfamily life field, HR practitioners, management
researchers and some unions. For those people, it is a worthwhile read, and is a
useful resource in the growing amount of literature devoted to the topic.
Rosemary Kelly, GM Holden Ltd, Sydney

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