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Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home
The future isn't about where we will work, but how. For years we have struggled to balance work and life, with most of us feeling overwhelmed and burned out because our relationship to work is broken. This "isn't just a book about remote work. It's a book that helps us imagine a future where our lives--at the office and home--are happier, more productive, and genuinely meaningful" (Charles Duhigg, best-selling author of The Power of Habit).
Out of Office is a book for every office worker - from employees to managers - currently facing the decision about whether, and how, to return to the office. The past two years have shown us that there may be a new path forward, one that doesn't involve hellish daily commutes and the demands of jam-packed work schedules that no longer make sense. But how can we realize that future in a way that benefits workers and companies alike?
Based on groundbreaking reporting and interviews with workers and managers around the world, Out of Office illuminates the key values and questions that should be driving this conversation: trust, fairness, flexibility, inclusive workplaces, equity, and work-life balance. Above all, they argue that companies need to listen to their employees - and that this will promote, rather than impede, productivity and profitability. As a society, we have talked for decades about flexible work arrangements; this book makes clear that we are at an inflection point where this is actually possible for many employees and their companies. Out of Office is about so much more than zoom meetings and hybrid schedules: it aims to reshape our entire relationship to the office.
Out of Office is a book for every office worker - from employees to managers - currently facing the decision about whether, and how, to return to the office. The past two years have shown us that there may be a new path forward, one that doesn't involve hellish daily commutes and the demands of jam-packed work schedules that no longer make sense. But how can we realize that future in a way that benefits workers and companies alike?
Based on groundbreaking reporting and interviews with workers and managers around the world, Out of Office illuminates the key values and questions that should be driving this conversation: trust, fairness, flexibility, inclusive workplaces, equity, and work-life balance. Above all, they argue that companies need to listen to their employees - and that this will promote, rather than impede, productivity and profitability. As a society, we have talked for decades about flexible work arrangements; this book makes clear that we are at an inflection point where this is actually possible for many employees and their companies. Out of Office is about so much more than zoom meetings and hybrid schedules: it aims to reshape our entire relationship to the office.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
December 28, 2021
Whew. Okay, first, I love Peterson’s work. Always well-Written and thought provoking. But this was a bit of a tough sell for me….the book presumes middle-upper class workers. And workers who will all do their shit. My experience has been that remote workers often don’t do much, which would be okay IF their work wasn’t falling on the other (mostly women and bipoc) workers. I wish she said more about HOW to achieve flexible work for all. You know? What can corporations and bosses do? And how can they do it in organizations with hundreds of employees? She does give a few examples but the specific details are sparse.
Further. It feels very much like “flexible work for some.” Are we supposed to make elementary school
Teachers teach on Sundays so free lance writers or tech workers can have Fridays off?!? While they admit child care is an issue, they don’t ever address it. And the way they talk about child care presumes young kids (babies and toddlers). The reality is school age but not yet teenage kids are very hard to manage.
But maybe I’m just too caught in a capitalist, worker system to imagine this alternative?!?
Further. It feels very much like “flexible work for some.” Are we supposed to make elementary school
Teachers teach on Sundays so free lance writers or tech workers can have Fridays off?!? While they admit child care is an issue, they don’t ever address it. And the way they talk about child care presumes young kids (babies and toddlers). The reality is school age but not yet teenage kids are very hard to manage.
But maybe I’m just too caught in a capitalist, worker system to imagine this alternative?!?
December 29, 2021
The authors of this book have been working remotely since 2017, when they decided to ditch New York and move to Montana. They've been thinking about work, and its place in our (USAmerican) lives ever since. Then the pandemic struck, and a whole lot of other people found themselves abruptly working from home, and also starting to re-examine the American addiction to work and the so-called "work ethic" that says that paid work is the only thing that matters in life, and everything else is just an unimportant hobby. The authors see this as a moment to change our culture for the better, with workers gaining some genuine work-life balance and employers respecting boundaries, and maybe learning to recognize and value quality and genuine productivity over office "presence."
The book is well-researched and highly informative. But holy cow, is it depressing. I've been looking for a new job because my company got a new owner two years ago (widow of the previous owner) who has been running it like a sweatshop (and this is knowledge work, not piecework!). I'm completely drained and exhausted, all day, every day, and it runs into every corner of the rest of my life, too. This book dashed any hopes I had of finding a less toxic workplace, because apparently my company's owner is just following the model recommended by all the cool modern business gurus, and pretty much all US office workers feel just like I do. (Ironically for me, the authors call out Frederick Winslow Taylor as a major villain relative to developing workplace culture, and he was actually one of the founders of the company I currently work for. But yeah, even before reading this I knew his obsession with running paid work like a plantation was for shit.)
The only light of hope in this book is that if nearly all white collar workers in the US feel utterly miserable, there does have to be a breaking point sometime. Maybe this is it.
I recommend this for its history of how work got to be this way, and its many suggestions of how it could be made better. Because this is just no way to live.
And if we achieve a white collar revolution for improved working conditions, then we need to work on similar improvements for the folks working in Amazon warehouses and the like. But that's a whole nother book.
The book is well-researched and highly informative. But holy cow, is it depressing. I've been looking for a new job because my company got a new owner two years ago (widow of the previous owner) who has been running it like a sweatshop (and this is knowledge work, not piecework!). I'm completely drained and exhausted, all day, every day, and it runs into every corner of the rest of my life, too. This book dashed any hopes I had of finding a less toxic workplace, because apparently my company's owner is just following the model recommended by all the cool modern business gurus, and pretty much all US office workers feel just like I do. (Ironically for me, the authors call out Frederick Winslow Taylor as a major villain relative to developing workplace culture, and he was actually one of the founders of the company I currently work for. But yeah, even before reading this I knew his obsession with running paid work like a plantation was for shit.)
The only light of hope in this book is that if nearly all white collar workers in the US feel utterly miserable, there does have to be a breaking point sometime. Maybe this is it.
I recommend this for its history of how work got to be this way, and its many suggestions of how it could be made better. Because this is just no way to live.
And if we achieve a white collar revolution for improved working conditions, then we need to work on similar improvements for the folks working in Amazon warehouses and the like. But that's a whole nother book.
January 4, 2022
I love Anne Helen Petersen's work, and this topic has been preoccupying me since the beginning of the pandemic, obviously. Having exactly the kind of mid-level role the authors regard as crucial, I have been thinking a lot about how improve the working life of my unit and the people in it while complying with the university's far more cautious exploration of the new flexibility.
(For anyone who thinks universities are hotbeds of radicalism, it's useful to know that when it comes to institutional change, militaries and post office look like radical trailblazers in comparison. Recall the old joke: "How many academics does it take to change a light bulb?" "Change?")
Petersen and Warzel write at the end about their own surprise about how much the book ended up being about the big picture of social change and less about the purely practical way of arranging remote work. It's about rethinking work more broadly, and why we do it. Their hope is about the revival of what they call American collectivism (a concept certain to bother people who think, mistakenly, that American culture is all about the individual) of mutual care and working for justice at both local and nonlocal levels. It's hopeful and optimistic, which some might call naive, but as they say, what's the point of doing anything if you don't have hope.
Although the book is wonderfully documented, occasionally the ratio of claims to evidence gets a bit high. If you agree with the claims, as I mainly do, it won't bother you. But I'm also thinking of our university's HR people reading this book and wondering how they'd react. I still might suggest they try. The pandemic has revealed totally surprising humane aspects even in some of our HR folks, so maybe there's hope.
(For anyone who thinks universities are hotbeds of radicalism, it's useful to know that when it comes to institutional change, militaries and post office look like radical trailblazers in comparison. Recall the old joke: "How many academics does it take to change a light bulb?" "Change?")
Petersen and Warzel write at the end about their own surprise about how much the book ended up being about the big picture of social change and less about the purely practical way of arranging remote work. It's about rethinking work more broadly, and why we do it. Their hope is about the revival of what they call American collectivism (a concept certain to bother people who think, mistakenly, that American culture is all about the individual) of mutual care and working for justice at both local and nonlocal levels. It's hopeful and optimistic, which some might call naive, but as they say, what's the point of doing anything if you don't have hope.
Although the book is wonderfully documented, occasionally the ratio of claims to evidence gets a bit high. If you agree with the claims, as I mainly do, it won't bother you. But I'm also thinking of our university's HR people reading this book and wondering how they'd react. I still might suggest they try. The pandemic has revealed totally surprising humane aspects even in some of our HR folks, so maybe there's hope.
January 8, 2022
Well written and researched, in the end this book feels a bit too opportunistic, or maybe rushed; it seems there was pressure from an agent or publisher to get it to print while we’re still in this work-based mess. Instead of being a deep, critical dive into the conditions and potentialities of WFH, the majority of the book is in reality a mashup of critiques of current working conditions, which I think have been exhausted at this point, with short interjections about how WFH changed those conditions, or didn’t, or might. For example, the dive into working at tech companies.. we get it. For better works on this, see “Bullshit Jobs,” “Uncanny Valley,” and Startup.” Chapter 4 begins with a 5+ page exposition on the rise and fall of community clubs in the U.S.; this probably could have been a page or two at most, as I began to get lost in something that was far removed from WFH, let alone working in the office.
The authors even admit that the title is a bit of a bait and switch on the last page: "In some ways, this book surprised us. It was not quite what we expected or even pitched we we first started writing it. In our heads, we thought its core would be remote work... There's some of that in these pages, but significantly less than we imagined."
There are plenty of interesting pieces here and there - particularly salient observations about management and culture in the online realm - but overall I was more hopeful that this would be at the level of rigor of “Can’t Even,” Peterson’s excellent meditation on her (and my) generation’s challenges. Instead, this book likely could have been a series of topical essays without the tangents.
The authors even admit that the title is a bit of a bait and switch on the last page: "In some ways, this book surprised us. It was not quite what we expected or even pitched we we first started writing it. In our heads, we thought its core would be remote work... There's some of that in these pages, but significantly less than we imagined."
There are plenty of interesting pieces here and there - particularly salient observations about management and culture in the online realm - but overall I was more hopeful that this would be at the level of rigor of “Can’t Even,” Peterson’s excellent meditation on her (and my) generation’s challenges. Instead, this book likely could have been a series of topical essays without the tangents.
December 25, 2021
This book wasn’t quite what I expected or wanted it to be. I was looking for something that would help me - a middle manager - find better solutions for working from home or in hybrid constellations for me and my team. While the problem analysis part of the book was at the right micro/meso level to be useful to be, the solutions part of the book was too macro for me. I didn’t really want policy recommendations for better child care or urban planning, but something more practical and concrete. The book also made me realize that there may be more of a difference between US work environments and European work environments than I had realized, which made the book slightly less useful for me as a European.
December 22, 2021
Apa yang paling dirasakan ketika sudah 2 tahun menjalani pola kerja WFH?
Dalam Out of Office, Warzel & Petersen mencoba menjelaskan efek dari WFH dalam 4 bab: Flexibility, Culture, Technology of the Office, & Community. Bagi dua penulis itu, pandemi akhirnya menguak adanya kesenjangan & eksklusifivitas kepada para pekerja (kerah biru & putih) yg sudah sejak lama bercokol. Hanya saja, beberapa sekadar "shrug it off under the rug."
Sebagaimana propaganda Big Brother bahwa "Freedom is Slavery," Warzel & Petersen menangkap fenomena itu dalam model "remote working." Menggunakan "productivity tools" sebagai alat untuk memantau kinerja dalam definisi kapitalisma atas produktivitas. Mengglorifikasi "flexibility" yg kalau ditelaah malah mempersilakan pekerja untuk dapat dihubungi kapan saja. "Remote working" & WFH bak kombinasi maut yg semakin mengaburkan garis batas antara area kerja & area privat.
Meski buku ini menggunakan studi kasus perusahaan (teknologi) di AS, namun ada beberapa konteks yg memiliki persamaan dg negara kita. Misalnya, "clock out" tepat pukul 17:00 WIB dianggap sebagai kurang loyal. Tidak lupa, jargon "we are family" untuk mengikat pekerja ke dalam roda bisnis kapitalis. uhuk.
Since I resigned in 2020, aku semakin tegas membicarakan batasan (guardrails). Di luar hari & jam kerja yang tertulis di kontrak, aku mengerjakan hal-hal terkait pengembangan diri. Seperti ikut kelas, mengurusi Baca Bareng, doing my side hustle, hingga menggarap konten kolaborasi. It was enough to let capitalism consume almost my entire 24/7. Aku belajar bahwa rekan kerja tidak selamanya bisa dijadikan teman atau bahkan yg dianggap sebagai "keluarga."
Out of Office terasa dekat denganku yg pernah mencicipi dunia konsultansi bisnis. How people keep glorifying "being productive" & merendahkan mereka yg mengambil jeda--again, bisa jadi itu cuma manipulasi.
Kalau kamu setuju dengan Bullshit Job-nya David Graeber atau How to Do Nothing-nya Jenny Odell, barangkali buku ini bisa dimasukkan ke daftar baca selanjutnya.
Dalam Out of Office, Warzel & Petersen mencoba menjelaskan efek dari WFH dalam 4 bab: Flexibility, Culture, Technology of the Office, & Community. Bagi dua penulis itu, pandemi akhirnya menguak adanya kesenjangan & eksklusifivitas kepada para pekerja (kerah biru & putih) yg sudah sejak lama bercokol. Hanya saja, beberapa sekadar "shrug it off under the rug."
Sebagaimana propaganda Big Brother bahwa "Freedom is Slavery," Warzel & Petersen menangkap fenomena itu dalam model "remote working." Menggunakan "productivity tools" sebagai alat untuk memantau kinerja dalam definisi kapitalisma atas produktivitas. Mengglorifikasi "flexibility" yg kalau ditelaah malah mempersilakan pekerja untuk dapat dihubungi kapan saja. "Remote working" & WFH bak kombinasi maut yg semakin mengaburkan garis batas antara area kerja & area privat.
Meski buku ini menggunakan studi kasus perusahaan (teknologi) di AS, namun ada beberapa konteks yg memiliki persamaan dg negara kita. Misalnya, "clock out" tepat pukul 17:00 WIB dianggap sebagai kurang loyal. Tidak lupa, jargon "we are family" untuk mengikat pekerja ke dalam roda bisnis kapitalis. uhuk.
Since I resigned in 2020, aku semakin tegas membicarakan batasan (guardrails). Di luar hari & jam kerja yang tertulis di kontrak, aku mengerjakan hal-hal terkait pengembangan diri. Seperti ikut kelas, mengurusi Baca Bareng, doing my side hustle, hingga menggarap konten kolaborasi. It was enough to let capitalism consume almost my entire 24/7. Aku belajar bahwa rekan kerja tidak selamanya bisa dijadikan teman atau bahkan yg dianggap sebagai "keluarga."
Out of Office terasa dekat denganku yg pernah mencicipi dunia konsultansi bisnis. How people keep glorifying "being productive" & merendahkan mereka yg mengambil jeda--again, bisa jadi itu cuma manipulasi.
Kalau kamu setuju dengan Bullshit Job-nya David Graeber atau How to Do Nothing-nya Jenny Odell, barangkali buku ini bisa dimasukkan ke daftar baca selanjutnya.
February 9, 2022
It’s a description I generally hate, but this is an “important” book, especially for those with (a description I like a little better) “bullshit jobs.” Petersen and Warzel interrogate remote work as not a panacea (and certainly not what many of us have been doing during the pandemic), but as a tool that can help us unlock the flexibility and free time that should come with the modernization of technology that allegedly makes us more productive.
There’s a lot of this book that is tough reading, in the sense that it can really make you question not just what you value, but why you value it and, in many cases, whether or not you had any say in valuing it in the first place. It does a wonderful job of walking that line between finding a way to make individual change being important while also addressing that improving just on an individual level is failure.
And importantly, for me, none of this is hokey, self-help guru stuff. It’s realistic; it’s messy; it doesn’t profess to have answers. Warzel and Petersen have suggestions towards a dream of lives less centered around work, one that is attainable but only in a short window.
If there’s one section everyone should read, it’s the conclusion, “Letters to Workers.” It is the one bit that feels a tad self-help (they spot it and call it out immediately, a self-awareness that is repeated throughout the book), but I think that’s in part a bias towards painting anything with a modicum of optimism mixed with self reflection these days as hokey garbage. This isn’t it at all. It’s two people sharing their firm belief that better is not just possible, but readily attainable. It’s the through line for the whole book, and one that will sit with me for a while.
There’s a lot of this book that is tough reading, in the sense that it can really make you question not just what you value, but why you value it and, in many cases, whether or not you had any say in valuing it in the first place. It does a wonderful job of walking that line between finding a way to make individual change being important while also addressing that improving just on an individual level is failure.
And importantly, for me, none of this is hokey, self-help guru stuff. It’s realistic; it’s messy; it doesn’t profess to have answers. Warzel and Petersen have suggestions towards a dream of lives less centered around work, one that is attainable but only in a short window.
If there’s one section everyone should read, it’s the conclusion, “Letters to Workers.” It is the one bit that feels a tad self-help (they spot it and call it out immediately, a self-awareness that is repeated throughout the book), but I think that’s in part a bias towards painting anything with a modicum of optimism mixed with self reflection these days as hokey garbage. This isn’t it at all. It’s two people sharing their firm belief that better is not just possible, but readily attainable. It’s the through line for the whole book, and one that will sit with me for a while.
January 24, 2022
Unfortunately, reading this book was like listening to someone complain about their job for 200 pages. Long on problems, short on workable solutions, all wrapped in a fairly negative and combative tone.
January 17, 2022
I obviously love AHP & the work she does (and specifically has been doing the last two years), so this was an easy sell for me. That being said, aside from the final section being too US-centric, I did really gel with this, definitely got me thinking about what I want my work life to look like as I move through my 30's especially.
January 11, 2022
Listened on audio.
Wow. I would have absolutely never expected to be as in love with this book as I am.
As someone who started working remotely for the first time during COVID, I knew this would explore a topic very relevant to my interests. But this book is so, so much more than I thought it would be.
It asks us to imagine a world where our relationship with work is completely different - where it doesn’t take up most of our time, define our identity, or provide meaning in our life above all else. It really makes clear how warped our relationship with work is, and that it does not have to be this way. Like all other social inventions, work could be whatever we want it to be if we imagine and fight for a better way. The possibilities opened up in this book are beautiful, human, and hopeful.
Those things are all true, AND it’s also true that it discusses concrete examples of how different companies implemented work from home, the history of cubicles, and how we can stop having so many meetings. It’s both practical and profound.
This book honestly blew my mind. It’s not perfect, and I think there’s a ton of ideas and content here that were hard to piece together. But it made me realize how connected work from home practices are with literally everything - urban planning, childcare policies, political action, and so much more. Like just about everything else, we can be doing work so much better. This books begins to provide a path, and I sincerely hope that it gets a wide, enthusiastic, and open minded readership.
Wow. I would have absolutely never expected to be as in love with this book as I am.
As someone who started working remotely for the first time during COVID, I knew this would explore a topic very relevant to my interests. But this book is so, so much more than I thought it would be.
It asks us to imagine a world where our relationship with work is completely different - where it doesn’t take up most of our time, define our identity, or provide meaning in our life above all else. It really makes clear how warped our relationship with work is, and that it does not have to be this way. Like all other social inventions, work could be whatever we want it to be if we imagine and fight for a better way. The possibilities opened up in this book are beautiful, human, and hopeful.
Those things are all true, AND it’s also true that it discusses concrete examples of how different companies implemented work from home, the history of cubicles, and how we can stop having so many meetings. It’s both practical and profound.
This book honestly blew my mind. It’s not perfect, and I think there’s a ton of ideas and content here that were hard to piece together. But it made me realize how connected work from home practices are with literally everything - urban planning, childcare policies, political action, and so much more. Like just about everything else, we can be doing work so much better. This books begins to provide a path, and I sincerely hope that it gets a wide, enthusiastic, and open minded readership.
December 20, 2021
Anne Helen Petersen is one of my favourite writers and even though this book didn’t really sound like something I was necessarily interested in, I knew I’d find what she had to say interesting and it would be well-researched and well-articulated.
This book is written by her and her partner, Charlie Warzel, and I did find it difficult to identify the “author” when it would refer to one or both of them by name.
As I said at the start this isn’t the kind of book I would normally read so to be honest I did find it quite hard work, especially after a long day at work, to read about work. I thought it would be quite one-note, focusing on working from home, but I did like its big ideas for the future of not only work, but the world.
Of course it’s very specific to a specific type of person. And obviously for an American audience. This became most apparent to me in the last section on hobbies outside of work - as a person with lots of hobbies I found it strange to have the value of hobbies explained to me and how to cultivate a new hobby.
I would say it probably needed a bit more time post-pandemic. I don’t think enough time has passed for this to be as relevant yet while the world is still figuring things out.
An interesting read, if not for me especially fun.
3.5 stars
This book is written by her and her partner, Charlie Warzel, and I did find it difficult to identify the “author” when it would refer to one or both of them by name.
As I said at the start this isn’t the kind of book I would normally read so to be honest I did find it quite hard work, especially after a long day at work, to read about work. I thought it would be quite one-note, focusing on working from home, but I did like its big ideas for the future of not only work, but the world.
Of course it’s very specific to a specific type of person. And obviously for an American audience. This became most apparent to me in the last section on hobbies outside of work - as a person with lots of hobbies I found it strange to have the value of hobbies explained to me and how to cultivate a new hobby.
I would say it probably needed a bit more time post-pandemic. I don’t think enough time has passed for this to be as relevant yet while the world is still figuring things out.
An interesting read, if not for me especially fun.
3.5 stars
April 23, 2022
This book starts off great, with a detailed discussion of how being away from the office doesn't necessarily distance yourself from toxic workplaces. And then it slowly, steadily, slides into an appalling display of white privilege and simple-minded nostalgia.
The main problem comes to the fore in the back half of the book, when they start blabbering about how much better it was in the old days with all these mutual aid societies, churches, and other social organizations before mean old capitalism came along and took away all our time to help out in our communities. While I'm no fan of a capitalist system, the argument falls apart quickly.
Part of this is simply projection. Both these people need to learn better time management and to tell their bosses no, instead of assuming moving to the country will solve their problems. This is a problem throughout the book, but becomes particularly intense towards the end.
There's a token acknowledgement that these societies weren't necessarily GOOD (by noting that the KKK was one of them), but the problem goes a lot deeper. Many of these social organizations were deeply conformist in ways that were deeply unwelcoming to "outsiders," and acting like the workplace is a swamp of white privilege (which they make a reasonable case for) while refusing to acknowledge that problem was just as pervasive in other social institutions is grotesque. Much of what we built in the past was designed to keep others out, and these institutions are still coming to grips with what building a true and inclusive version means.
Then there's the glossing over of the very real social conflicts that will inevitably be coming to the fore over the next few years. Granted, discussing how people my age and younger will change the places they're generally forced to move to is pretty much a whole other book. But their advice for dealing with these conflicts essentially boils down to vapid "be kind" type platitudes, which can be absolutely enraging. I grew up in a blue state seen as a hippie paradise and I still saw a lot of injustice; swallowing your tongue doesn't work.
To some degree this book just bit off more than it could chew. But the authors really needed to sit down and engage in some real introspection, and talk to people who didn't look like them in much more detail, before they pitched this book.
The main problem comes to the fore in the back half of the book, when they start blabbering about how much better it was in the old days with all these mutual aid societies, churches, and other social organizations before mean old capitalism came along and took away all our time to help out in our communities. While I'm no fan of a capitalist system, the argument falls apart quickly.
Part of this is simply projection. Both these people need to learn better time management and to tell their bosses no, instead of assuming moving to the country will solve their problems. This is a problem throughout the book, but becomes particularly intense towards the end.
There's a token acknowledgement that these societies weren't necessarily GOOD (by noting that the KKK was one of them), but the problem goes a lot deeper. Many of these social organizations were deeply conformist in ways that were deeply unwelcoming to "outsiders," and acting like the workplace is a swamp of white privilege (which they make a reasonable case for) while refusing to acknowledge that problem was just as pervasive in other social institutions is grotesque. Much of what we built in the past was designed to keep others out, and these institutions are still coming to grips with what building a true and inclusive version means.
Then there's the glossing over of the very real social conflicts that will inevitably be coming to the fore over the next few years. Granted, discussing how people my age and younger will change the places they're generally forced to move to is pretty much a whole other book. But their advice for dealing with these conflicts essentially boils down to vapid "be kind" type platitudes, which can be absolutely enraging. I grew up in a blue state seen as a hippie paradise and I still saw a lot of injustice; swallowing your tongue doesn't work.
To some degree this book just bit off more than it could chew. But the authors really needed to sit down and engage in some real introspection, and talk to people who didn't look like them in much more detail, before they pitched this book.
Read
September 27, 2021If you believe there’s a better way to live than refreshing your work email until you close your eyes at night, you’ll appreciate this deep dive into how workers relate to the office.
Angela Haupt, Washington Post
This book will challenge you to rethink what it takes to make remote work work — not just for companies, but for people. With lucid writing, provocative examples, and refreshing candour, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen highlight what too many workplaces are doing wrong — and how we can start getting it right.
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Out of Office isn’t just a book about remote work. It’s a book that helps us imagine a future where our lives — at the office and home — are happier, more productive, and genuinely meaningful. As companies and employees imagine their post-pandemic futures, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen have provided an essential framework for rethinking how we work.
Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
Insightful and timely … Never sacrificing meaningful analysis for easy answers, this is a remarkable examination of the rapidly-changing workplace.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
Based on a historical review of workforce expectations, journalists Warzel and Petersen focus on four key areas for strategic change to improve working conditions, employee satisfaction, and wellness … Prior to the pandemic, worker burnout, transience, and dissatisfaction were culminating in a call for change. The pandemic and remote-work chaos heightened awareness of the need for change, the return to work now occurring provides the opportunity, and this book provides a roadmap.
Booklist
Having left their New York desk jobs and moved to Montana, leading culture journalists Warzel and Petersen see today's pandemic-driven work-at-home situation as a cobbled-together compromise and explain how we can create true out of office work schedules benefiting both workers and employers.
Library Journal
Angela Haupt, Washington Post
This book will challenge you to rethink what it takes to make remote work work — not just for companies, but for people. With lucid writing, provocative examples, and refreshing candour, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen highlight what too many workplaces are doing wrong — and how we can start getting it right.
Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Out of Office isn’t just a book about remote work. It’s a book that helps us imagine a future where our lives — at the office and home — are happier, more productive, and genuinely meaningful. As companies and employees imagine their post-pandemic futures, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen have provided an essential framework for rethinking how we work.
Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
Insightful and timely … Never sacrificing meaningful analysis for easy answers, this is a remarkable examination of the rapidly-changing workplace.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
Based on a historical review of workforce expectations, journalists Warzel and Petersen focus on four key areas for strategic change to improve working conditions, employee satisfaction, and wellness … Prior to the pandemic, worker burnout, transience, and dissatisfaction were culminating in a call for change. The pandemic and remote-work chaos heightened awareness of the need for change, the return to work now occurring provides the opportunity, and this book provides a roadmap.
Booklist
Having left their New York desk jobs and moved to Montana, leading culture journalists Warzel and Petersen see today's pandemic-driven work-at-home situation as a cobbled-together compromise and explain how we can create true out of office work schedules benefiting both workers and employers.
Library Journal
January 2, 2022
Pretty clear I'm the target audience for this book: middle manager in a declining division of a large corporation. I appreciated the broad scope for such a relatively short book, the authors did their research on the history of office work and the trends that have influenced it for good and bad in the last 70 years. They also begin to process the incredible change that has just taken place in society over the last two years. And I say “begin to process” because I do believe this time of change is ongoing and will be longer lasting that anyone would like so I appreciated that they didn’t presume to sit back and simply report on this new era as if it’s over.
Instead, they look to the future possibilities and offer a new way to think about that old trope of work/life balance. One in which work might not have to be life. I was chagrined to realize that they were spot on for me: I have allowed work to be my main source of social contact and personal fulfillment instead of finding those things in my neighborhood or my community as folks did in the past. They suggest the idea that maybe my problem-solving skills or leadership ability could be more usefully applied to local volunteer opportunities – if my work allowed me the time and mental space to explore those options.
As I am nearing the end of my career, it might be too late for me. But not for my team. The kind of sea change described has to start somewhere. So in addition to contemplating massive cultural shifts, the authors also provided actionable ideas for how I can make WFH life better for my team: README files, LOOM videos and options to “sit in” on high level meetings are all strategies that I’m taking back to work with me in 2022.
Highly recommend this tightly packed, excellent little book that will hopefully be proven to be ahead of its time.
Instead, they look to the future possibilities and offer a new way to think about that old trope of work/life balance. One in which work might not have to be life. I was chagrined to realize that they were spot on for me: I have allowed work to be my main source of social contact and personal fulfillment instead of finding those things in my neighborhood or my community as folks did in the past. They suggest the idea that maybe my problem-solving skills or leadership ability could be more usefully applied to local volunteer opportunities – if my work allowed me the time and mental space to explore those options.
As I am nearing the end of my career, it might be too late for me. But not for my team. The kind of sea change described has to start somewhere. So in addition to contemplating massive cultural shifts, the authors also provided actionable ideas for how I can make WFH life better for my team: README files, LOOM videos and options to “sit in” on high level meetings are all strategies that I’m taking back to work with me in 2022.
Highly recommend this tightly packed, excellent little book that will hopefully be proven to be ahead of its time.
January 8, 2022
There's a lot to think about in Out of Office. I'm thinking most about the passage on why coworkers are not and should not be family and the history and comparison of individualism and collective well-being.
I've always chafed at coworkers referring to our team or department as family or fam and Charlie and Anne have given me the language to explain why.
I don't know what you'll find in Out of Office that resonates with you, but if you are a knowledge worker or someone who has worked remotely, you'll probably find something to reflect upon and hopefully act upon.
I've always chafed at coworkers referring to our team or department as family or fam and Charlie and Anne have given me the language to explain why.
I don't know what you'll find in Out of Office that resonates with you, but if you are a knowledge worker or someone who has worked remotely, you'll probably find something to reflect upon and hopefully act upon.
April 26, 2022
OUT OF OFFICE fuses history, sociology, real-world examples, observations from the past, and speculation about the future to make a case for the future of work. the future should balance office and remote work — this book applies primarily to knowledge workers — with sturdy guardrails to protect life from work. in many ways OUT OF OFFICE builds on Petersen’s CAN’T EVEN, except this one is co-written with her husband, also a prolific thinker and writer. several brilliant points throughout the book about work, solidarity, society, and identity. managers received promotions for productivity but are now horrible at managing. workers embraced ‘do what you love’ in a down-spiral toward burnout. OUT OF OFFICE is self-conscious about the hubris of offering predictions or prescribing solutions, opting instead for a careful, sharp analysis, complete with subtle yet profound advice. for example, embrace a hobby, not for profit or social media, but to rediscover your own heart. (for me this is acoustic music). give civic organizations a chance, as society can only benefit from mutual aid and political engagement. numerous quotable lines. currently one of my favorite books.
Read
July 27, 2021Having left their New York desk jobs and moved to Montana, leading culture journalists Warzel and Petersen see today's pandemic-driven work-at-home situation as a cobbled-together compromise and explain how we can create true out of office work schedules benefiting both workers and employers.
Library Journal
Library Journal
Read
January 6, 2022As someone who is still figuring out the best way to work from home, I found this book insightful. I'm glad that I read it in advance of our evaluation period because it's going to impact what goals I set for myself and what I ask from my management. My favorite sections were those about LARPing at work, meaning performative work that isn't accomplishing anything but is taking up your time, and the management trajectory and how our workforce's tendency to promote to management positions often fail to provide the skillset to those individuals.
I've seen some reviews remark that this book leaves out some types of workers - the title makes it clear that this book is intended to aid those who are grappling with the shift to working from home, and if that doesn't apply to your or your job/company, then this probably isn't the book for you.
I've seen some reviews remark that this book leaves out some types of workers - the title makes it clear that this book is intended to aid those who are grappling with the shift to working from home, and if that doesn't apply to your or your job/company, then this probably isn't the book for you.
April 11, 2022
I enjoyed this mostly because it made me feel validated in my feelings about the work landscape as a whole coming out of the pandemic. I wish more people in upper and middle management roles would read it. The parts about individualism vs. collectivism were particularly interesting and I had never considered those topics in the context of work culture.
December 10, 2021
How much I liked the book varied wildly on the chapter. I appreciated the dives into work cultures beneath the surface of remote alone. I further appreciated the authors' ideas that I think are both realistic to pursue and can meaningfully improve the work environment.
I did not appreciate the almost preachy tone about how saved time could be spent. I almost found it ironic given the frustrations expressed at the antics of businesses to coerce people into spending their time there.
Overall, it felt like a book written by two different people that successfully edited their writing into one voice. One voice, but not one narrative. I felt like half the time I was reading something I really enjoyed and half the time I was reading something that really frustrated me. It felt almost schizophrenic.
I did not appreciate the almost preachy tone about how saved time could be spent. I almost found it ironic given the frustrations expressed at the antics of businesses to coerce people into spending their time there.
Overall, it felt like a book written by two different people that successfully edited their writing into one voice. One voice, but not one narrative. I felt like half the time I was reading something I really enjoyed and half the time I was reading something that really frustrated me. It felt almost schizophrenic.
October 14, 2022
refreshing antidote to most self help/productivity hack books with some usable suggestions for workers and bosses
February 11, 2022
Helpful and affirming
March 26, 2022
Much more than working from home
The book started in a way that I didn't expect and liked. But it all turned to the better after more pages and I was surprised to read so many of the things I believe should happen in the near future of work. And then there is the part about what work does to us humans. Is it all worth working constantly and chasing work and career goals that might never materialize as we wish. A lot of things towards the end of the book that made me think about my life and what I need to change to find myself again.
The book started in a way that I didn't expect and liked. But it all turned to the better after more pages and I was surprised to read so many of the things I believe should happen in the near future of work. And then there is the part about what work does to us humans. Is it all worth working constantly and chasing work and career goals that might never materialize as we wish. A lot of things towards the end of the book that made me think about my life and what I need to change to find myself again.
April 6, 2022
This helped me work on my relationship to work and reimagine working from home in a way that sets more boundaries.
December 9, 2021
Seemed a little rushed to print. It kept referring to the pandemic as being over when of course it hasn’t ended at all. Many people still have yet to return to work and many are dying every day.
December 18, 2021
Like many others, I have been one of millions of office workers who have been able to work from home as the pandemic rages on. This book by Warzel and Petersen look at this problem from the multiple angles that have been discussed that come with remote working. From lack of space to bigger issues like equity and fairness in the workspace.
Some of these are probably not new to a reader if you've been working at home at all during the pandemic. But perhaps you haven't had to think about the pandemic and WFH in the same way. From what had been supposed to be a temporary situation for many (a few weeks is what a supervisor of mine guessed way back in early 2020) has now become standardized (depending on your situation). And now as we make baby steps forward and leaps back due to variants popping up, what does the future of working from home look like?
I had been eagerly looking forward to this book but have to agree with the negative comments. If you've been keeping up with this at all as a matter of genuinely interest. there probably isn't a lot here that isn't new to you. Some organizations were able to better flip to WFH while others had a much bumpier road. Some have had to deal with bosses who wanted people back in the office ASAP after a set time or being vaccinated or beginning of 2022 or whatever while ignoring the advantages of what remote working that had.
Which is not to say that it's all positive, as the book notes. While we knew that the "old" way of work wasn't working, what does the future look like? Hybrid? WFH? How does this change how we work and how do we get there? This book isn't one that can answer those questions (there probably isn't any right now!) but trying to get there is certainly interesting.
It was interesting to read all of this put together in a larger work, but it does feel unfinished and it doesn't really have a lot more to say than what is already out there. There were some interesting bits of people who found WFH worked much better and how they made it work and how and what accommodations were made, etc. and I appreciated the authors' advice to bosses to acknowledge that this isn't short-term and to stop looking at this as a problem that will go away very soon. Pandemic or not much of our work can be increasingly automated or done with computers away from an office and this is something that should not be ignored or trivialized.
It wasn't a terrible read but it also didn't live up to the expectations either. Probably going to be more interesting in say 5 or so years or whenever COVID recedes to a much more manageable thing. Many of these issues are addressed in outlets ranging from the New York Times to Bloomberg and the like but if you prefer reading up on this in a single book, this might not be a bad read. Would recommend for bosses in particular as not necessarily a guide but as research for how to manage a remote workforce. And same for employees on not as how to better WFH but to give one a greater awareness.
Library borrow was best for me.
Some of these are probably not new to a reader if you've been working at home at all during the pandemic. But perhaps you haven't had to think about the pandemic and WFH in the same way. From what had been supposed to be a temporary situation for many (a few weeks is what a supervisor of mine guessed way back in early 2020) has now become standardized (depending on your situation). And now as we make baby steps forward and leaps back due to variants popping up, what does the future of working from home look like?
I had been eagerly looking forward to this book but have to agree with the negative comments. If you've been keeping up with this at all as a matter of genuinely interest. there probably isn't a lot here that isn't new to you. Some organizations were able to better flip to WFH while others had a much bumpier road. Some have had to deal with bosses who wanted people back in the office ASAP after a set time or being vaccinated or beginning of 2022 or whatever while ignoring the advantages of what remote working that had.
Which is not to say that it's all positive, as the book notes. While we knew that the "old" way of work wasn't working, what does the future look like? Hybrid? WFH? How does this change how we work and how do we get there? This book isn't one that can answer those questions (there probably isn't any right now!) but trying to get there is certainly interesting.
It was interesting to read all of this put together in a larger work, but it does feel unfinished and it doesn't really have a lot more to say than what is already out there. There were some interesting bits of people who found WFH worked much better and how they made it work and how and what accommodations were made, etc. and I appreciated the authors' advice to bosses to acknowledge that this isn't short-term and to stop looking at this as a problem that will go away very soon. Pandemic or not much of our work can be increasingly automated or done with computers away from an office and this is something that should not be ignored or trivialized.
It wasn't a terrible read but it also didn't live up to the expectations either. Probably going to be more interesting in say 5 or so years or whenever COVID recedes to a much more manageable thing. Many of these issues are addressed in outlets ranging from the New York Times to Bloomberg and the like but if you prefer reading up on this in a single book, this might not be a bad read. Would recommend for bosses in particular as not necessarily a guide but as research for how to manage a remote workforce. And same for employees on not as how to better WFH but to give one a greater awareness.
Library borrow was best for me.
February 18, 2022
Some good ideas but I was troubled and distracted by the overall assumption of a business-is-bad-workers-are-victims mentality. While there are certainly leaders or companies which are bad actors, and certainly workers who have bad experiences, it’s also true that workers have agency and can be empowered to contribute to positive conditions for themselves, coworkers and their organizations. The idea that work is bad is also ubiquitous here—when instead work really can be a place to make friends, express talents and feel pleasure. Not to the exclusion of other things, but as part of a full life. If we assume work is bad, companies are bad and workers are victims it limits the solutions we can find to make work better.
February 22, 2022
3.5 stars. This is a book that purports to be about remote work (aka "working from home"), and indeed, the authors say they intended to write about best practices for remote work, but the book they ended up writing is really about the place of work in our life more broadly. The sudden shift to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic has not changed any of the root issues surrounding "white collar" work — poor management, lack of diversity, valuing quantity of work over quality, an obsession with efficiency as a means to greater productivity rather than greater flexibility — but the authors' premise is that this vast shakeup in our method of work presents an opportunity to rethink what the purpose of work is and how it should function, from the top to the bottom. As they go through each of the problems with today's workplaces, they don't offer solutions so much as they try to dig to the very root of each problem: where and how it originated, why it remains, and why it's so bad. They highlight why individuals cannot change these problems on their own but encourage new forms of organizing to push leaders to rethink the very structures of the workplace.
And then, inexplicably, they pivot to lecturing individuals at the end of the book, assuming that the reader is a workaholic who has allowed the pressures of being seen as constantly productive, and the seductiveness of work always being available, to consume all hours of their life. They tell the reader to find the pursuits they used to love to do and make time for those rather than always working. It's a bizarre turn, as if they completely missed everything they said in the rest of the book about these issues being structural. They never acknowledge that in many fields, hours must be tracked and billed, even if you have flexibility of when to work those hours, so it's not actually possible to singlehandedly free up hours in your week. Though they have one section on the issue of childcare, the authors — a childless couple — seem woefully unaware of the demands that young children place on a person's time and energy in a given week, and imply that if you're exhausted, it's because you're letting yourself work too much, letting work be "the axis of your life." Can they not imagine a remote worker who spends all the time their children are in school logging their billable hours, and that maybe that's why they haven't taken up skiing as a hobby the way the authors did?
Contrast this:
With this:
The authors also seem to have forgotten the existence of non-profits and government services when talking about remote work. They take it as a given that organizations are obsessed with productivity because they're trying to squeeze out more profits for shareholders; I don't remember them interviewing a single person who said they were overworked because their organization's services seem so vital and the need in the world so great. In the end section, where they say that it's unclear what work is actually valuable to do and that's why people should find meaning in their lives outside of work, they don't seem to consider people who see other people's lives genuinely improving because of the work they're doing.
This book came out at the end of 2021 and the authors seem to have wrapped up writing it in mid-2021 (based on when their various interviews were dated), and I'm curious what kind of world they envisioned this book coming out in, pandemic-wise. On the one hand, they thought we'd still be close enough to the pandemic-related quarantines that everyone wouldn't have yet returned to their offices, so there was still an opportunity to do that thoughtfully. And yet, as they recommend going out in your community and meeting people, organizing, joining social groups, reconnecting with all of the important people in your life, I'm not sure if they thought we'd be past the final waves of COVID, or if they — like many people who don't have young, as-yet-unvaccinated children (see above) — figured it was now totally safe to do so because adults can be vaccinated.
I'd recommend this book most strongly to two group of people: one, those who are in some kind of decision-making capacity within their organization or feel they have the security to push for organized change, and two, people who feel like working from home has allowed work to seep into all areas of their life and that they no longer have clear boundaries around their work. Also, if you're the kind of person who's just interested in a history of work, there's a lot of fascinating stuff in here. Otherwise I'm cautious that this may make you feel more demoralized or victim-blamed than anything.
And then, inexplicably, they pivot to lecturing individuals at the end of the book, assuming that the reader is a workaholic who has allowed the pressures of being seen as constantly productive, and the seductiveness of work always being available, to consume all hours of their life. They tell the reader to find the pursuits they used to love to do and make time for those rather than always working. It's a bizarre turn, as if they completely missed everything they said in the rest of the book about these issues being structural. They never acknowledge that in many fields, hours must be tracked and billed, even if you have flexibility of when to work those hours, so it's not actually possible to singlehandedly free up hours in your week. Though they have one section on the issue of childcare, the authors — a childless couple — seem woefully unaware of the demands that young children place on a person's time and energy in a given week, and imply that if you're exhausted, it's because you're letting yourself work too much, letting work be "the axis of your life." Can they not imagine a remote worker who spends all the time their children are in school logging their billable hours, and that maybe that's why they haven't taken up skiing as a hobby the way the authors did?
Contrast this:
Boundaries can, theoretically, work, but only for a privileged subset of your organization. They’re simply not a sustainable option for the vast majority of workers, especially those who aren’t in senior positions, who are women, who are people of color, or who are disabled. For those groups, attempting to maintain them can lead to an office reputation as difficult, aloof, unresponsive, or the dreaded “such a millennial” or “not a team player.” It might mean getting passed over for promotions or, eventually, getting fired. You can’t 4-Hour Workweek your way out of this problem. You need something structural.
With this:
It just seems so much easier to not do something, to not have plans, to not try something new or figure out how to do something you used to love. But that’s your exhaustion speaking. When work devours your waking hours, it also devours your will to do things that actually nourish you. The truth is that we don’t prioritize these activities, because—other than seeking out ways to optimize ourselves as workers or desirable bodies—we don’t actually prioritize ourselves. ... Be patient with yourself as you figure that out. When you first start trying to put the guardrails on a flexible, post-pandemic schedule, you still might want to spend your newly protected time napping or ambiently watching sports.
The authors also seem to have forgotten the existence of non-profits and government services when talking about remote work. They take it as a given that organizations are obsessed with productivity because they're trying to squeeze out more profits for shareholders; I don't remember them interviewing a single person who said they were overworked because their organization's services seem so vital and the need in the world so great. In the end section, where they say that it's unclear what work is actually valuable to do and that's why people should find meaning in their lives outside of work, they don't seem to consider people who see other people's lives genuinely improving because of the work they're doing.
This book came out at the end of 2021 and the authors seem to have wrapped up writing it in mid-2021 (based on when their various interviews were dated), and I'm curious what kind of world they envisioned this book coming out in, pandemic-wise. On the one hand, they thought we'd still be close enough to the pandemic-related quarantines that everyone wouldn't have yet returned to their offices, so there was still an opportunity to do that thoughtfully. And yet, as they recommend going out in your community and meeting people, organizing, joining social groups, reconnecting with all of the important people in your life, I'm not sure if they thought we'd be past the final waves of COVID, or if they — like many people who don't have young, as-yet-unvaccinated children (see above) — figured it was now totally safe to do so because adults can be vaccinated.
I'd recommend this book most strongly to two group of people: one, those who are in some kind of decision-making capacity within their organization or feel they have the security to push for organized change, and two, people who feel like working from home has allowed work to seep into all areas of their life and that they no longer have clear boundaries around their work. Also, if you're the kind of person who's just interested in a history of work, there's a lot of fascinating stuff in here. Otherwise I'm cautious that this may make you feel more demoralized or victim-blamed than anything.
January 30, 2022
In many ways, I feel like this book was written for people like me. In March of 2020, my company closed 20+ offices across the U.S., suddenly forcing around 500 employees to work from home (WFH). In the next year, I went to the office only once - to tour other smaller office spaces that we could downsize into when we returned post-pandemic. In the end, we closed all but 5 locations and transitioned a significant portion of our workforce to full-time WFH.
I have overseen a remote team for years. At any given time, we worked across at least 3 time zones with a mix of WFH and physical offices. Because we were one of the few distributed departments in our company, we were early adopters of video calls, Slack, and other similar tools. But in 2020, the rest of the company, and much of the world, suddenly needed to catch up.
The net result of that has been twofold, both addressed in Out of Office. Firstly, the transition to a new work paradigm, a greater reliance on video calls, and more on-demand communication tools like Slack and Teams have changed the way we work. I felt that the authors did a very good job of analyzing the behaviors that some of these shifts promote and the downsides that can result.
I also appreciated the inclusion of some specific technology tools & tips to help with problems like meeting overload, zoom fatigue, and certain biases that can creep in as the work dynamic evolves. When you start naming specific companies and apps, the timeliness of the book is automatically more limited. No doubt, reading this book in 3-4 years will mean that half of the suggested tech tools are out of business or have been bought up by a competitor. But the more important goal is to understand the problems that they're trying to address.
The second success of this book is effectively addressing our relationship to work and how the 'always on' demands of WFH can't be allowed to consume us. I recently read Work Won't Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe, and my biggest complaint was that the author completely failed to address the social and emotional influences that make work addictive as an activity and basis of identity.
I'm not convinced that a secret cabal of 1%ers meet in their smoke-filled backrooms and agree to exploit the middle manager who regularly answers emails on vacation. Many people care about their work, even if they don't love it, and if nothing else, they may care about their team or their boss and want to do good work for the good of those relationships. There's nothing wrong with that, and I don't believe that it's a human flaw to want the product of one's labors to mean something while also putting food on the table.
The authors do a great job addressing some of the acute technical issues of remote work, but I'm glad that they also turn an eye towards the fundamental structures of what work is, how it functions in our current society, and who are the winners and losers in our system. As we undergo what will likely be a fundamental shift in the American (and potentially global) "workplace", there are big questions that we need to answer around equity, sustainability, and what the whole point of this thing is anyway.
One way or the other, it's hard to believe that the pandemic won't prove to be a fulcrum point on which our future turns. That can be done purposelessly, in which workers are increasingly monitored for productivity and end up devoting an unsustainable level of personal energy towards performative busywork -OR- this might be a moment of reinvention, in which we begin to imagine a work-life that is balanced against our personal lives and a desire for human flourishing.
I found Out of Office to be an approachable and timely entry into that important conversation and have recommended it to several executives at my company.
I have overseen a remote team for years. At any given time, we worked across at least 3 time zones with a mix of WFH and physical offices. Because we were one of the few distributed departments in our company, we were early adopters of video calls, Slack, and other similar tools. But in 2020, the rest of the company, and much of the world, suddenly needed to catch up.
The net result of that has been twofold, both addressed in Out of Office. Firstly, the transition to a new work paradigm, a greater reliance on video calls, and more on-demand communication tools like Slack and Teams have changed the way we work. I felt that the authors did a very good job of analyzing the behaviors that some of these shifts promote and the downsides that can result.
I also appreciated the inclusion of some specific technology tools & tips to help with problems like meeting overload, zoom fatigue, and certain biases that can creep in as the work dynamic evolves. When you start naming specific companies and apps, the timeliness of the book is automatically more limited. No doubt, reading this book in 3-4 years will mean that half of the suggested tech tools are out of business or have been bought up by a competitor. But the more important goal is to understand the problems that they're trying to address.
The second success of this book is effectively addressing our relationship to work and how the 'always on' demands of WFH can't be allowed to consume us. I recently read Work Won't Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe, and my biggest complaint was that the author completely failed to address the social and emotional influences that make work addictive as an activity and basis of identity.
I'm not convinced that a secret cabal of 1%ers meet in their smoke-filled backrooms and agree to exploit the middle manager who regularly answers emails on vacation. Many people care about their work, even if they don't love it, and if nothing else, they may care about their team or their boss and want to do good work for the good of those relationships. There's nothing wrong with that, and I don't believe that it's a human flaw to want the product of one's labors to mean something while also putting food on the table.
The authors do a great job addressing some of the acute technical issues of remote work, but I'm glad that they also turn an eye towards the fundamental structures of what work is, how it functions in our current society, and who are the winners and losers in our system. As we undergo what will likely be a fundamental shift in the American (and potentially global) "workplace", there are big questions that we need to answer around equity, sustainability, and what the whole point of this thing is anyway.
One way or the other, it's hard to believe that the pandemic won't prove to be a fulcrum point on which our future turns. That can be done purposelessly, in which workers are increasingly monitored for productivity and end up devoting an unsustainable level of personal energy towards performative busywork -OR- this might be a moment of reinvention, in which we begin to imagine a work-life that is balanced against our personal lives and a desire for human flourishing.
I found Out of Office to be an approachable and timely entry into that important conversation and have recommended it to several executives at my company.
January 18, 2023
Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home is not what I expected. But then the authors didn't write the book they expected, either.
I thought its core would be about remote work: its procedures, its best practices, and our own experiences. I was hoping it would help me, an extrovert, become a more focused remote worker. Instead, this well-researched book is more about how the nature of white collar work in the US needs to change, and that the pandemic's sudden mandate to work remotely can serve as a catalyst for that change.
Other interesting points the book makes:
Americans work an average of 269 hours more than its wealthy economy would predict, making it the second most over-worked country.
This focus on work has come at the expense of community. Note how civic, philanthropic and religious institutions have dwindled in the past 40 years. It's because we're too busy working!
There isn't one simple solution to the all in office/all remote/hybrid question. It's a very situation specific decision for the company and the worker. Obviously, remote work lets a company hire more broadly and get the best candidates. It also means it's easier to take advantage of the global (read cheaper) labor force. So this can work against the white collar work as well as for them.
The move toward remote can make it easier to achieve DEI goals.
Office space and technology improvements are mixed.
Totally open offices have been unpopular. Workers want private space.
Slack didn't reduce work time; it just shifted time from email to Slack.
The pandemic (remote work?) didn't reduce unfruitful meeting time. Average Microsoft Teams time per meeting increased from 35 to 45 minutes between 2020 and 2021.
Americans should focus more on themselves as people, and not just as their role at work. One's identity shouldn't be something that is just squeezed into the margins of an overbooked work life.
Ultimately, the book is somewhat frustrating because it doesn't offer and recommend specific solutions to solve remote work or add meaning to white collar work on a macro scale. It does give the reader a wealth of well-researched content to ponder. It's a toss up between 3.5 and 4.0 stars.
I thought its core would be about remote work: its procedures, its best practices, and our own experiences. I was hoping it would help me, an extrovert, become a more focused remote worker. Instead, this well-researched book is more about how the nature of white collar work in the US needs to change, and that the pandemic's sudden mandate to work remotely can serve as a catalyst for that change.
People say that we, as a society, worship consumerism, that we have made false idols out of things. But that pronouncement increasingly rings false, particularly for office and knowledge workers. We worship work.
Work has taken on such a place of primacy in our lives that it has subsumed our identities, diluted our friendships, and disconnected us from our communities. Individualism induces work obsession, and that work obsession in turn keeps us mired in individualism.
Other interesting points the book makes:
Americans work an average of 269 hours more than its wealthy economy would predict, making it the second most over-worked country.
This focus on work has come at the expense of community. Note how civic, philanthropic and religious institutions have dwindled in the past 40 years. It's because we're too busy working!
There isn't one simple solution to the all in office/all remote/hybrid question. It's a very situation specific decision for the company and the worker. Obviously, remote work lets a company hire more broadly and get the best candidates. It also means it's easier to take advantage of the global (read cheaper) labor force. So this can work against the white collar work as well as for them.
The move toward remote can make it easier to achieve DEI goals.
Office space and technology improvements are mixed.
Totally open offices have been unpopular. Workers want private space.
Slack didn't reduce work time; it just shifted time from email to Slack.
The pandemic (remote work?) didn't reduce unfruitful meeting time. Average Microsoft Teams time per meeting increased from 35 to 45 minutes between 2020 and 2021.
Americans should focus more on themselves as people, and not just as their role at work. One's identity shouldn't be something that is just squeezed into the margins of an overbooked work life.
Who would you be if work ceased to be the axis of your life? How would your relationship with your close friends and family change, and what role would you serve within your community at large? Whom would you support, how would you interact with the world, and what would you fight for?
Ultimately, the book is somewhat frustrating because it doesn't offer and recommend specific solutions to solve remote work or add meaning to white collar work on a macro scale. It does give the reader a wealth of well-researched content to ponder. It's a toss up between 3.5 and 4.0 stars.
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