{"product_id":"white-collar-blues-mustafa-yava-9780231213608","title":"White-Collar Blues: The Making of the Transnational Turkish Middle Class","description":"\u003cp\u003eConsider the lucky few. They studied hard and aced high-stakes tests, survived demanding schooling and extracurriculars, graduated from top colleges and immediately landed high-pay, high-status corporate positions in tall buildings. What happens after this middle-class dream of fast-track careers comes true? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhite-Collar Blues\u003c\/i\u003e follows the Turkish members of the global elite workforce as they are selected into, survive within, and opt out of coveted employment at transnational corporations. State-employed doctors, lawyers, and engineers were long seen as role models until Turkey followed the global tide of neoliberalism and began to embrace freer circulation of capital. As world-renowned corporations transformed Istanbul into a global city, Turkey's best and brightest have increasingly sought employment at brand-name firms. Despite achieving upward mobility within and beyond Turkey, however, many Turkish professionals end up feeling disappointed, burned out, and trapped in their corporate careers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing from more than one hundred interviews in Istanbul and New York City, Mustafa Yavaş develops a theory of middle-class alienation, explaining how so-called \"good jobs\" fail elite workers. Yavaş shows how educational investments in an increasingly competitive landscape lead to high hopes, which then clash with poor work-life balance, low intrinsic satisfaction, and a felt lack of meaning from labor in corporate workplaces. Highlighting the trade-off between freedom and financial security, \u003ci\u003eWhite-Collar Blues\u003c\/i\u003e reveals the hidden costs of conflating the quest for socioeconomic status with the pursuit of happiness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mustafa Yavaş\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231213603\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231213608\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/24\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Mustafa Yava\u0026#351;","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46465709113599,"sku":"9780231213608","price":140.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d7735e1d-a1c3-48ce-8e91-c193e0405c9d.jpg?v=1736347049","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/white-collar-blues-mustafa-yava-9780231213608","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}