"Part of the problem with the emergence of the 'disposable' worker is that the potential advantages of true 'flexiblity' at work have been compromised. Employers can benefit from some leeway in how they schedule their workforce. And many employees, especially those with children, can benefit from choice and discretion in scheduling their own working time. But disposability is not flexibility. As a result of recent trends, part-time and more contingent work is becoming a sentence, not an opportunity. Workers are losing rights, choice, and benefits." (p. 246)
"In the world today, individuals and even whole communities find themselves being thrown away like empty orange peels when the organizations they serve have no further use for them. Individuals find themselves permanently unemployed even though they feel they have many good years of useful work ahead of them." (p. 279)
"Employers are willing to pay a higher cost for temp laborers because they are disposable. 'We call it pimping people out,' says Suzie Qusenberry, 'because that's really what it is. I'm going to pimp you out for $8 an hour and all you're going to get is $5.35.' They take the money and you do the work. Isn't that just like pimping?'"
"Big business often treats people as disposable, when we should look at how to repurpose our people to better fit the future needs of the company and the employee." (p. 12)
"It's tough to be an older worker in today's workplace. Americans used to say that 'life begins at forty.' No longer. Today older people are often considered obsolete, expendable, and disposable. People over forty often feel in peril, worrying constantly whether they are going to get the axe." (p. 51)