Lab Rats

A Guardian Best Book of 2019

An Inc. Magazine Best Business Book of 2018

"I loved Dan Lyons's book Disrupted. With Lab Rats, he takes his critique of the modern workplace to the next level, to show how Silicon Valley's sometimes disturbing ideas about how to treat employees now pervade many workplaces. This is a fascinating, thought-provoking, hilarious, and sometimes harrowing account of current work culture."

"Dan Lyons's Lab Rats defies easy description. It is hilarious, but not funny. I sputtered laughing and choked crying (literally, not figuratively) as I read it. Yes, to an extreme, Lyons gives Silicon Valley the thrashing that it, alas, largely deserves. But in the final third of the book, he offers us an effectively illustrated way out--an approach to work and business that puts people first, profitably serves customers, and makes the world a little bit better in the process."

"A lively and spirited takedown."

"[Lyons] argues persuasively.... A passionate indictment of brutal workplace culture."

"[A] darkly funny journalistic look at the contemporary workplace.... By turns sardonic and impassioned, this is an insightful and frequently entertaining guide to the increasingly bizarre world of Silicon Valley and the trends it spawns."

"[Lab Rats] exposes the junk science and questionable management practices that have migrated from Silicon Valley to the rest of the economy."

"Fair warning: you may need an extra set of hands around while you're reading Lab Rats. You'll need them to help pick your jaw up off the floor."

"With Lab Rats, Lyons makes a passionate plea for business leaders to understand this dangerous transformation and offers a way out."

"This book should be required reading for anybody who thinks working for a startup in Silicon Valley would be fun."

"Skewering corporate jargon, management science, and, worst of all, enforced fun, Lyons's waggish jeremiad lays out how the world of work has changed for the worse."

"An entertaining polemic against the tech industry.... Instead of obsessing about unicorns (startup companies worth more than $1 billion), the author thinks the world should look for 'zebras,' which can turn a profit and improve society at the same time. Many modern workers will agree."

"Lyons is a very funny journalist... Much of his polemic rings true."

"Entertaining... A worthwhile and disturbing read."

"Funny and frightening."

"Dan Lyons'... quest to understand the modern workplace has yielded an amusing but often harrowing report from the front lines."