This book tells why people want to feel like members of work organizations, and why doing so is difficult. Using case examples, it presents a psychoanalytic perspective on organizational entry and the process of entry negotiations for workers which sometimes lasts years. Interview material shows how workers try to use organizations to develop and how entire careers reflect satisfaction or disappointment with initial organizational experiences.

Baum presents a useful framework for interpreting organizational behavior in terms of workers' efforts to develop. He shows how developmental expectations must be met before workers can identify with organizational goals or feel close to colleagues, and how worker motivation is possible only in organizations that meet individuals' growth needs.