Dear Jeremy, Will our demoralising working conditions ever improThe following letter, written to Jeremy Bullmore, agony uncle at Guardian Work (published Jan 5), paints a picture of life in book publishing today that many of our members will recognise. It emanates from an Oxford-based publishing house. “I work in a department of a well-known publishing company where turnover is sky high. Nine members of the 11-person team have left in the space of less than 18 months. Overwork, underpay, and under-appreciation are constant gripes, and it extends beyond our team to very nearly the entire press. A recent company-wide "stress management" seminar was oversubscribed some 10 times over, and even this year's Christmas play, usually brimming with festive cheer and gentle innuendos, was dangerously charged with rebellious outcries about unfair management practices and poor working conditions. Things only seem to get worse as regular "restructuring" has seen the team's numbers drop from 11 to just six.
“The trouble is, I like the work, I like the people I work with (management largely excepted), I like the premises, and I like the city. I should be, and to an extent am, grateful for what I've got; but if working conditions don't improve soon I will simply have to leave. Am I being fanciful to imagine things might change for the better in time, since to date they have only got worse in time? And do better employers genuinely exist out there? The whole experience has left me depressed and sceptical, entirely against my nature.
AW 2008-02-02
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