Unworking The Reinvention of the Modern Office

As we look toward a future of hybrid or virtual offices, a timely call to rethink the very nature and design of the workplace.
 
Over the past one hundred years, the office has been integral to the development of modern society. It has shaped the architecture of our cities, the behavior of our organizations, and the everyday movements of millions of people. In 2020, however, the global pandemic brought our attendance in the office to an abrupt halt and triggered a complete reevaluation of the purpose of the workplace. This book offers a panoramic view of the office and explores what happens next. The authors advance a manifesto for “unworking”—unlearning old habits and rituals established for an outdated office and crafting and creating new ones fit for an age of digital technology, design innovation, and diverse workforces.

Jeremy Myerson is a design writer and professor emeritus in the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art in London. With Philip Ross, he cofounded Worktech and the Worktech Academy, an online knowledge platform and network on the future of work and the workplace.

Philip Ross is a futurist, commentator, and advisor specializing in the impact of emerging technology on people and their ways of working. With Jeremy Myerson, he cofounded Worktech and the Worktech Academy, an online knowledge platform and network on the future of work and the workplace.