The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future

Description

As remote working becomes the norm rather than the exception for many office workers around the globe, The Nowhere Office proposes a radical new way of thinking about work both now and in the future. Offering a strategic and practical guide to negotiating this pivotal moment in the history of work, The Nowhere Office addresses the problems which beset work - the endemic stagnant productivity and crisis of stress which predate the pandemic - and the new challenges of remote working, repurposing offices for more creative interaction, managing WFH teams and satisfying the demand for more purposeful work with greater work/life balance. Drawing on history, cutting-edge research and extensive interviews Julia Hobsbawm argues persuasively that now is the time to develop something better, more meaningful, and, crucially, more workable.

Julia Hobsbawm is an award-winning writer, speaker and consultant on how to make working life work better. She is the author of six books including Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload and The Simplicity Principle which won Best Business Book and Best Self-Help Book of 2020. She presents the popular podcast The Nowhere Office and writes the Working Assumptions column for Bloomberg's Work Shift.

Julia Hobsbawm is brilliant at seeing tomorrow's ideas today -- Jo Lo Dico, Financial Times Every manager or leader who is wondering what to do next about their offices and people needs to read The Nowhere Office -- Ben Page, Global CEO of Ipsos Working or not working defines who we are. Where we work and how we work really matters. Yet there is so little public debate about any of this. That is why Julia Hobsbawm's The Nowhere Office is an important book. If you are one of the millions who can't decide whether working-from-home is a pandemic silver lining or just another disaster, this book is for you. -- Robert Peston Work is being revolutionised before your eyes. Anyone who wants to understand what is going on-workers deciding how much time to spend in the office, managers wondering how to manage a blended workforce, CEOs worrying that their headquarters is becoming a white elephant - could do no better than to read The Nowhere Office, a tour de force of insight, clarity and, something sadly lacking in debates on this subject, common sense -- Adrian Wooldridge, global business columnist, Bloomberg Opinion A masterfully even-handed and sensible appraisal of the future of work . . . a priceless injection of nuanced thinking and practical suggestions -- Rory Sutherland We need big bold thinkers like Julia Hobsbawm right now more than ever -- Polly Mackenzie, Chief Executive, Demos A masterwork. It describes the changing patterns of work and our ambivalence about losing so many of the old certainties whilst trying to embrace change. Important and enduring -- William Eccleshare, Chairman and CEO, Clear Channel Julia Hobsbawm brings a unique perspective to the debate about the future world of work - that of someone who is able to look back and look forward at the same time. Her observations and suggestions should be read by everyone who employs, or plans to employ, others -- Professor Heather McGregor, CBE FRSE PFHEA, Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University Where else are you going to find such enlightening insights into the future of work? -- James Bell VP Pew Research Centre Her thinking demands and inspires huge change -- Good Business Julia Hobsbawm's book The Nowhere Office brilliantly captures the zeitgeist issue of our times - how and where we work -- Ayesha Hazarika, writer and broadcaster, Times Radio Concise and highly readable -- Forbes