The results of three national symposia held in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco by the Work in America Institute involving more than 300 leaders from industry, qovernment, labor, communications, and education are summarized in this volume dealing with the work force of the future and the emerging work environment. Changes reported that affect work in America include affirmative action legislation, a declining birth rate, retirement-at-70 laws, and early retirement options. Issues responding to the changes discussed are shorter or compressed work weeks, work-at-home jobs (with your own computer terminal), flexitime, employee civil rights, and worker participation in management. Focus is on five fundamental issues: (1) the quality of working life; (2) productivity, emphasizing the human factors in the productivity equation; (3) education and the world of work; (4) employee-management cooperation; and (5) national labor force policy, examining policies of the United States and other industrialized nations as they affect the quality of working life. An index is provided. (LC)