Ben Waber reviewed A nation on the line by Jan M. Padios
An Amazing Ethnographic Study
4 stars
The first 3 of 5 chapters of this book are an amazing ethnographic study of call centers in the Philippines, capturing the nature of the work, its fraught colonial entanglements, and how these organizations function. What's interesting here is the frankly impressive front line team management methods in these firms, which is paired with oppressive expectations that are fundamentally at odds with the firms' espoused values. The sections where Padios goes through the hiring and onboarding process are also illuminating, demonstrating the transparent but cutthroat nature of this competitive environment. The final two chapters focus on sociological issues around call centers, which feel very out of place. The discredited Marxist analysis that bleeds into earlier chapters is also mildly distracting and takes away from the important points of the book. Nevertheless, this is still a great book on an increasingly common mode of work. Highly recommend
The first 3 of 5 chapters of this book are an amazing ethnographic study of call centers in the Philippines, capturing the nature of the work, its fraught colonial entanglements, and how these organizations function. What's interesting here is the frankly impressive front line team management methods in these firms, which is paired with oppressive expectations that are fundamentally at odds with the firms' espoused values. The sections where Padios goes through the hiring and onboarding process are also illuminating, demonstrating the transparent but cutthroat nature of this competitive environment. The final two chapters focus on sociological issues around call centers, which feel very out of place. The discredited Marxist analysis that bleeds into earlier chapters is also mildly distracting and takes away from the important points of the book. Nevertheless, this is still a great book on an increasingly common mode of work. Highly recommend