In my poking around , I was surprised to discover this, and was about to get into it as well. Diana Ross signed with MCA and was flabbergasted that about that time MCA then bought out Motown and wanted to transition her to that label! The way I read it, if Diana had any idea it was headed this way she never would've signed with MCA.
I guess Berry talked her into going along with it, got some perks added to the deal, a partial ownership for her.
So maybe WORKIN' OVERTIME was an MCA project that then wound up being on Motown?? This to me would explain the decision to approach her first Motown album this way, with this kind of content . Because even if Motown was no longer the label it once was , they still had a strong roster of acts from Diana's era, it [[to me) defies logic that you wouldn't tap into that to create a welcome back to the family story line.
One thing that is clear , there was little fanfare centered around Diana's return , so it doesn't seem like a thrill abounded from any angle.
What also still puzzles me is why choose Nile Rodgers and then not really use him . Looks like all the programming of the synths were done by Greg Smith and Nile mostly hung around.
Here're some rather unconvincing comments imo about this project from Diana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LOYUYPAvs4