The Dark Side of DIY by Hofstra University

BOOK REVIEW

The Dark Side of DIY Shadow Work, by Craig Lambert. Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2015. reviewed by Rachel Goldblum

veryday we unknowingly participate in “shadow work,” whether we are pumping our own gas, bagging our own groceries, or booking our own flights. In his latest book, Craig Lambert highlights these unseen and unpaid jobs that we participate in on a daily basis. Lambert, who was a writer and editor at Harvard Magazine for over 20 years, wastes no time in introducing the reader to the concept of shadow work as he dramatically states: “Shadow work is steadily lengthening the to-do list of people whose days are already crammed. It ushers in a paradoxical 21st century era in which individuals gain more autonomy while surrendering more control of their lives.” In essence Lambert is describing how a large amount of each person’s free time is now consumed by shadow work, which adds to their workload and diminishes the amount of time that we actually get to spend on leisure activities. The purpose of this book is to expose the amount of shadow work that people participate in on behalf of businesses.

when you run errands and have to bag your own groceries and pump your own gas. Previously there had been people who did these jobs for you, but now you must do them yourself. The reasons for this are that, thanks to many technological advances, businesses have found it more profitable to have the customer do these jobs instead of paying an employee to do them. This phenomenon can also be seen in workplaces where employers have cut support staff like secretaries and executive assistants. This is because the average worker now makes her own copies, keeps track of her own calendar, and responds to her own emails. It comes as no surprise that business owners have realized that, with the spread of such technology, it is easier to trim the payroll and shift the burden of completing more and more basic tasks onto employees’ unpaid time and/or onto customers. The ATM’s replacement of most bank tellers and supermarket selfcheckout’s near-elimination of cashiers were early well-known cases. Since then, the emergence of smart phones has played a growing part in the diminishing number of executive assistants thanks to their ability to keep a calendar and a contact list, send and receive emails and calls, and research information, all in the palm of your hand. With the Internet one can search for flights and hotels and book travel accommodations without having to go through the time and potential expense of a travel agency. Online shopping has also allowed people to skip going to the store in general, picking out what they want online and having the item shipped straight to their homes.

Lambert starts off strong with the topic of “Middle-Class Serfdom.” He discusses how the emergence of shadow work has led to a decline in leisure time, particularly for the middle class. The next chapter then moves on to discuss how shadow work began in the home as general housework and farm work and expanded as the world went through industrialization and the movement of more women into the workplace. As paid labor outside the home became the norm, shadow work grew more common. The following two chapters discuss how shadow work has invaded office work, displacing support staff, then moves into its role in restaurants, in travel, and in shopping. Chapter five tackles the huge roles of computers and the Internet and finally the sixth chapter revisits the idea of the diminishing amount of leisure people experience.

The two main issues Lambert has with the recent development of shadow work, especially when it is caused by automation, is that it creates a lack of human contact and reduces genuine leisure time. These are arguably valid points and Lambert does a good job in raising them. But he frequently risks appearing to readers as the stereotypical image of an old man ranting about “well back in my day…” In these moments, Lambert diminishes his argument by being overly dramatic and, in some cases, illogical. An example of this is when he begins to discuss how some customers now try to handle the manufacturing phase of commerce with the emergence of 3D printers. He mentions such printers before noting the stronger argument that IKEA has started a wave of DIY furniture making, which is a valid argument. The idea that more people just happen

Throughout the book Lambert makes a lot of comparisons between the 21st century and what he refers to as the good old days of the fifties and sixties. It is clear that the author has some bias toward those years, most likely reflecting positive memories of his own upbringing then. But at some points the book begins to sound like a cranky rant against modernity. Lambert shows that shadow work can be found everywhere you look: the office, the home, restaurants, the Internet. It can be seen 38

to have 3D printers in their homes incites a somewhat emotional response in which the author goes off on a knee-jerk reaction against new technology.

reworded and placed in different situations. His undeniable main point is that shadow work is now everywhere; we participate in it everyday, too often unknowingly and without fair compensation.

There is another odd moment where Lambert goes on what seems to me an uncalled-for rant about helicopter parenting. He somehow wanders from talking about shadow work in the home to urging a change of social norms that have allowed helicopter parents to exist. This point could have been a valid argument had it been better integrated into the analysis of shadow work rather than pitched as a seemingly unrelated complaint that today’s parents are too involved in their children’s lives.

Another issue is that Lambert is clearly biased against shadow work. He does not take the time to see that while shadow work may take up time in some areas, in others it may actually be efficient and therefore allow for more leisure time. Lines at grocery stores can be long, even when fully staffed, and self-checkout can be a real time-saver after an exhausting day’s work. Likewise, with sometimes ordering items online instead of always heading out to multiple stores. Ordering online typically allows you to pick your items faster, in the size and quantity desired, without wandering around stores until you find the right section to search through limited stock, and it allows for a much faster checkout. A final critique of the book is that it fails to deliver on its cover’s promise of a field guide that “shines a light on these powerful trends and, more importantly, offers valuable insight into how to counter their effects.” This was simply untrue; it gave no ideas on how to counter the effects of shadow work. All that can be inferred from reading this book is that the author thinks we should all avoid self-checkout and online shopping. All in all, Shadow Work raised some good issues on the unseen jobs we are participating in everyday, but was lacking in any suggested actions that we might take to prevent participating in shadow work. It was also wanting as a critical evaluation of both sides of the issue. Yes, there is shadow work that is time consuming and destroys jobs, but there is also shadow work that allows you to save time and money. Shadow work is not always negative. Lambert makes some good and valid points, but tends to repeat the same few, just 39