Lab Rats

New York Times bestselling author Dan Lyons exposes how the “new oligarchs” of Silicon Valley have turned technology into a tool for oppressing workers in this “passionate” (Kirkus) and “darkly funny” (Publishers Weekly) examination of workplace culture.

At a time of soaring corporate profits and plenty of HR lip service about “wellness,” millions of workers–in virtually every industry — are deeply unhappy. Why did work become so miserable? Who is responsible? And does any company have a model for doing it right?

For two years, Lyons ventured in search of answers. From the innovation-crazed headquarters of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, to a cult-like “Holocracy” workshop in San Francisco, and to corporate trainers who specialize in . . . Legos, Lyons immersed himself in the often half-baked and frequently lucrative world of what passes for management science today. He shows how new tools, workplace practices, and business models championed by tech’s empathy-impaired power brokers have shattered the social contract that once existed between companies and their employees. These dystopian beliefs–often masked by pithy slogans like “We’re a Team, Not a Family” — have dire consequences: millions of workers who are subject to constant change, dehumanizing technologies — even health risks.

A few companies, however, get it right. With Lab Rats, Lyons makes a passionate plea for business leaders to understand this dangerous transformation, showing how profit and happy employees can indeed coexist.