Is This Working?: The Jobs We Do, Told by the People Who Do Them

by Charlie Colenutt

'Fascinating and often moving' - The Sunday Times

'Unique and unexpectedly it’s a choral work of frustration, pride and despair' - The Telegraph

'Charlie Colenutt’s intense and revealing interviews capture the raw voices of people talking honestly about work . . . Read this, as each one opens a hidden window on the way we live now.' - Polly Toynbee

For the best part of two years Charlie Colenutt travelled the country to talk to a hundred strangers, from all walks of life about their What did they do for a living? Why did they do it? Did they like it?

They met in coffee shops, chain pubs or front rooms. Through hearing people tell their stories, he found out the number of birds killed a day in a poultry factory, the order in which patients are woken up in care homes, and the reasons why you shouldn’t smile when you are shown your bonus in an investment bank. He spoke with the church minister who, maddened by his email inbox, has come to feel more like an administrator than a spiritual leader; the cleaner that became so frustrated by the lack of change in her local area that she ran to be a councillor and won; the baker who used to hate touching flour; and the trade union organiser, not pressured by hours or targets, but by the cause.

Together, the voices in Is This Working? tell a story about the one thing that most British adults have in common – work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

395 pages, ebook

Published March 6, 2025

Reviews

[Amelia Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was essentially just a collection of interviews, but it gives such insight and empathy into jobs you never think about. 10/10 recommend.

[Clair Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to Is This Working? by Charlie Colenutt primarily because I am very nosy! In this book, Colenutt has talked to all sorts of people about their careers. The jobs are divided into broad categories and the people interviewed talk about all aspects of their jobs. They talk about their education and how they came to be in their job, their joys and frustrations at work, the stresses and rewards. There were plenty of jobs I’d heard of and some I hadn’t. It features people of all sorts of backgrounds, different ages and nationalities.
Work is something we all have to do and it fascinates me how we end up doing the jobs we do. And we are living through turbulent times - wars, a pandemic which has changed the way many of us work and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. A fascinating social commentary, which is interesting and accessible which I really enjoyed listening to.

[David Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, I liked the concept and delivery.

As someone who likes to see "how others live" having a sampling of people in various lines of work tell their stories was nice.

As a Canadian I had to google some of the words used as it is very much true to "every day working brits" and uses slang not found in Canada. I think this added to its charm.

[Alice Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This readable and highly engaging book builds an illuminating picture of what most people in the UK actually do every day, which makes for a fascinating read, if at times a depressing and shocking one. The voices are authentic and real, and the stories speak for themselves, but if anything I would have liked more of the author's own commentary and analysis which is extremely well-written, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. Everyone will find a story that resonates. And every politician should read this book.

[Jonathan Garvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely read.

[Leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly fascinating. It is nothing more or less than what the title claims: people talking about work. But as the author notes, work is such a big part of life! The book discusses jobs that I have never understood (some I had never heard of) in a frank, matter of fact way, and gives insight into how personality, circumstances and work itself interact. It made me angry, happy and sad by turns, and I feel like someone should be commissioned to repeat the project every twenty years or so forever. 3.5 stars.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of interviews with people in many professions. Some of the people interviewed had previous professions before their current one, others had spent their whole careers in one field. Ages varied from 20s to 60s. Only one person was spoken to for each job. The list of jobs was hardly exhaustive.

It does provide you with an idea of what you might do with your life, and it's also interesting to read about a whole spectrum of careers. The problem is a 20-something will have a very different perspective from someone nearing retirement. Child-free people will also have hugely different perspectives than those with children.

I am out of work at the moment having worked in one profession all my life. Nothing really jumped out at me from the book as an alternative career, though, other than the thing I do! If there was one thing I did get from the stories in the book though it was that the people who sounded happiest were the ones doing a job they loved rather than one they got paid lots for.

[Anggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is such an enlightening book if you ever wonder what it is really like for people working at a different job than your own. What I found the most relatable was when he shared a story about someone who worked at a call center and their day to day struggles. This is because I spent a year working remotely as a customer service specialist for a web hosting company and let's just say it wasn't my favorite job in the world.

I learned a lot from this book as I can appreciate even more that each little job matters to the grand scheme of things. We really do need each other to survive on this planet. So, please be kind to everyone and most importantly treat your customer service representative with respect!

[Rosalind · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a wasted opportunity. The author shows very little understanding of the labour market, his research is patchy, and his conclusions uninformed.

The two stars are solely for the participants and there are some really interesting and insightful stories shared. But the choices are bizarre. We hear from two cleaners, two stay at home parents, three (?) teachers and lots of people working in IT. But there is nobody from the creative industries or media (at a push you might count the advertising copy-writer). Performing arts and entertainment is represented by a lone, unemployed musician who can only speculate on what his chosen profession might be like.

There are no workers from culture and heritage. No scientists, nothing from the environmental sector, utilities ... it goes on. Of course 68 individuals cannot represent the diversity of work out there, but more effort should have been made to cover a wider range of sectors. Had the author been an expert in careers or the labour market rather than a curious outsider then this may have bedn more achievable. The contributions from the three participants who were out of work didn't add anything the core purpose of the book and could have been excluded in favour of featuring more diverse roles.

I am hungry for stories about working lives, and it seems many other readers feel the same, so it's frustrating that what's been produced is so shallow.

[Julie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to LibroFM and Macmillan for the advanced listening and reading copies.

What do people in Britain today really think of the work that they do?

Charlie Colenutt spent many hours interviewing people across all walks of working life and asked for their frank opinions about their jobs.

From childminder to joiner, churh minister to investment banker, the accounts that people give of their working day makes for a fascinating read. Among the happiest workers aren't necessarily the high earners but the ones with real job satisfaction and purpose to their working day.

A great insight into why we work, how we work and good career advice for young people!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what drew me to this book, perhaps an instinctive nosiness at what people actually do all day. A very readable set of interviews with 68 people from varying areas of work. It's an interesting snapshot of work-life in modern Britain, and the challenges, benefits, and problems experienced; many seemingly affecting a broad spectrum of careers (bureaucracy, data, and paperwork in particular). It made me reflect, not just on my own work but that of those I know.

A good read and valuable for those working with people in all walks of life.

[Tanya Hunter-Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful and quietly powerful read, this is a fascinating exploration of one of the few things that truly connects us all. Over the course of two years, Charlie spoke to a hundred people from all corners of the UK, capturing their thoughts, frustrations, joys and ambivalence about what they do for a living. The variety of professionals, backgrounds, ages and experiences makes this book both rich and deeply human. From investment bankers to care workers, bakes to trade union organisers, each story is told with empathy and curiosity. Some anecdotes are funny, others moving. It’s a reminder that work shapes so much of who we are - and that behind every job title is a story worth hearing.

[Mat Greener · Rating 5 out of 5]

found really interesting listening to different perspectives of different jobs. which were well selected & organised by the author. it is possible he removed certain bias from interviews that he didn't publish but felt well structured & well voiced conclusions many you arrive at yourself but good to have these validated.

[Becky Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Colenutt has created a fascinating survey of modern British working life, with profound lessons (both personal and political) to be found across the candid interviews

Highly recommend (and should be mandatory reading for politicians)

[Chris Bros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Particularly thought-provoking how systems can penalize best performers in non-obvious ways, and why executive leadership should always seek to get hands dirty in their most low-level jobs.

[Adam Maher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 was hoping it would be better - still decent.

[Harrison Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool concept, well executed. Lots of things to think about. Just wish some of the interviews were a little longer.

[Ellie Gower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a really interesting insight

[Lucas Bertholdi-Saad · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's what it says on the tin, and it's wonderful

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A intresting insight into the jobs people do, as told by them. A good read for anyone considering training for or changing into those jobs.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant human book of life for people surviving, living, and thriving in the UK.

[Abi Pellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really unique non-fiction that I couldn't resist requesting from BookBreak, so thanks for sending over a copy folks! This book is separated into sections and each chapter within is from another individual with a different job, they're 2 to 6 pages long and discuss what it's like to work that role.

Because this book is around 400 pages long, there are a lot of different jobs mentioned in here! Oil rig workers, sex workers, tax filers, dog walkers, nurses, teachers, and so many more. There are so many careers in here where I likely wouldn't have interacted with anyone from that career path, and so their viewpoint is completely new to me. It was fascinating to learn more about these jobs from a very personal perspective.

This is also a UK based book, which as a Brit is always my preference when I can find it, and also means that this is even more relevant to my personal society. This is such a unique concept and I'm surprised more folks haven't read this! It's a quick read (for the page count) and a deeply interesting one.

[j · Rating 4 out of 5]

this felt like a podcast worked so well as an audiobook