Why is so little written about work when we spend a huge portion of our lives engaged with it? Informed by her observations and evaluations of hundreds of jobs, ergonomist Jane Byers’ Coming Home From The Candy Factory shines a spotlight on the physical labour that often leads to workplace injuries. And as a poet, Byers pays attention not only to the physical demands but also the language of work. As an ergonomist and a poet, her work comes together in this new collection of lyric essays and poems.

Coming Home From The Candy Factory is fueled by Jane Byers’ drive to make the workplace safer but also inspired by her working-class background and her father’s work in a power plant. Byers takes on the forgotten labour of women, whose unpaid housework and child-rearing is often not considered work at all.

As a return-to-work specialist, Jane Byers has had many conversations with people about what their occupations mean to them. She advocates for the benefits of going back to work, a choice she made when returning back to the job after a workplace injury. These stories are grimy and dusty and come from the beautiful corners of workplaces and work cultures.