Hello Laziness! : Why Hard Work Doesn't Pay

Picture the scene: The boardroom at French electricity giant EdF. The subject: 'Motivation'. One of the senior economists piped up: She came to work, she declared, because she was paid to. The stunned silence lasted a full 15 seconds. The woman was Corinne Maier and she had dared to voice the unspeakable - we go to work not because we love it, not because we love organising childcare, and cramming on the Tube for 45 minutes, but because we have to. This sets the tone for Maier's revolutionary book on getting away with doing as little as possible at work. Full of practical tips as well as insights into the workings of the modern company, HELLO LAZINESS is as inspirational as it is enlightening. Covering subjects ranging from getting promoted, to managing in meetings and dealing with colleagues, HELLO LAZINESS is a witty antidote to the rash of American motivational books on the market. It is a call to the office-workers of the world to rise up and throw their laptops and mission statements in the air. HELLO LAZINESS will make you laugh, then make you wish you'd known all of this years ago.

Corinne Maier is an economist and author who has worked for years at Electricite de France (EdF). Shortly after the publication of this book in France, Maier was due to be disciplined by her employers for disloyalty to the company and for reading a newspaper during a meeting. However, they have since abandoned disciplinary action. For the moment, Maier continues to work part-time at EdF and to follow her own recipe of how to work as little as possible. The remainder of her time is dedicated to writing and to psychoanalysis.