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

by Julia Hobsbawm

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Management, Productivity

208 pages, Hardcover

Published February 17, 2022

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Work from Home, hybrid work. The technology has always been there, but Covid has really made the Nowhere Office socially acceptable. And a lot of people will not want to go back to the Offcie full time now. The new found freedom, time saved and flexibility, is liberating. Productivity went up, but working hours have become longer. Managers transfer their skill set to the Nowhere Offcie era. Social capital is more difficult to accumulate without physical meeting, so some on site work is still necessary.

We are moving towards Presence and away from Presenteeism; looking at work output rather than work hours. However, stress and burn out is mostly caused by ridiculous deadlines and lack of compensation and recognition. HR is seen as the hands of upper management.

This book is alright, just a tad Western centric. What is not mentioned is the Asian culture (Japan, Korea) where the team is expected to go out together after work. Covid has finally broken that, and allowed also some workers to live in the dying remote villages.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I worked in a large corporate office setting from 1980-2000, during which time flexible work hours/locations were beginning to emerge, but the majority of both decades involved significant travel to multiple locations. Video conferencing was rare; in person was best. Thankfully I was retired for the Covid-19 years, where the "office environment" changed completely.
Julia Hobsbawm's book about the Nowhere Office provides a great look at the office environment over several decades. Certainly, the technology has made working from anywhere an option in many industries. That broadens the talent pool and reduces fixed office costs. The author does a great job describing the trends that were leading to this shift in office culture, and suggests ways to maintain human contact and social interaction at a different level. Fun to read about this major shift in management/leadership and so glad to not be living the culture change. I lived through many culture changes as computers came onto every desk. Now dispensing with the desk and office is a shift I imagine older workers are resisting. And not everyone is equipped to work well from home -- literally or emotionally.

[Florian, Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we just go back to the office after two years in the home office, as if nothing had happened? No, says Julia Hobsbawm, and in her short book she deconstructs the office as we know it in order to reinvent it afterwards: not as a place, but a space with a physical and a social form, in which the relationship between work and worker must be renegotiated. Above all, Hobsbawm is convinced that in the future, the office will be only one of many places of work, because actually the office of the future is "nowhere". A text worth reading, published at exactly the right time.

[سليمان العوشن · Rating 3 out of 5]

عند قراءتك لهذا الكتاب، تشعر أنك لا تطالع مجرد تحليل إداري عابر، بل تدخل في حوار عميق مع واقع العمل الذي تعيشه أو تستعد له. يخاطبك الكتاب بوضوح وهدوء، ويدعوك إلى إعادة النظر في أفكار بدت لك يومًا بديهية، مثل ضرورة المكتب، والحضور اليومي، وربط الإنتاجية بعدد الساعات. ستجد نفسك متفقًا مع طرحه بأن العمل في جوهره فعل ذهني وقيمي، لا نشاط مكاني، وأن الإصرار على النماذج القديمة قد يكون عبئًا لا ضمانة للاستقرار. ما يميّز هذا الكتاب أنك لا تشعر بأنه يدفعك إلى قطيعة متطرفة مع الماضي، بل يرشدك إلى انتقال عقلاني ومتدرج نحو نماذج أكثر مرونة وإنسانية. بعد الانتهاء منه، تخرج بانطباع أن مستقبل العمل ليس مجهولًا أو مخيفًا، بل قابل للفهم والتشكيل، بشرط أن تتحلى أنت والمؤسسات بالشجاعة، والثقة، والاستعداد للتجريب وإعادة التعلم


تابعني على شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي

سليمان العوشن

http://about.me/aloshan

[Michal Rogowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book but stops somehow just before getting into interesting area. Great overview of what has changed post-pandemic but does not offer more insights. I'd like to see a more in-depth version that goes way more into analysis of what and how people work these days. There is a distinct feeling that book was a bit premature as some conclusions are certainly not warranted (eg predicting Metaverse to be the next driver of connections, whilst we see people going back to face to face more in reality). The author did her homework but I expected more.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book had some interesting thoughts about the shift in the workplace - often times they were small observations that seem so obvious, yet I had not heard anyone else speak about them. I thought Chapter 6 in particular about Social Health and Well-being had some specific suggestions that applicable to my own situation. The last chapter was more on action items - it would be worth reading this book just look at that chapter.

[Nicole Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s funny, but it seems like a lot has changed about work even since this book’s publication earlier this year. Corporations are trying to limit workers’ flexibility and wages, identity does play a part in how you’re able to work and VR seems even further off. An interesting reflection about possibilities, but they don’t seem like the near future.

[Jonathan Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been trying to read as much as I can about building effective remote teams and cultures, and this was... not really it? It was vaguely a history of work, how the remote world is new, etc, but not really much actionable advice in it, more general predictions and desires for how society can change

[Phil Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alot of abstract theory. Having spent my career in the commercial interiors industry i can say the author has a good grasp of how and why we are at the point we are, but no crystal ball as to where this seismic shift will end up. It would be interesting if she added an addendum 3 to 5 years from now.

[Julian Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and engaging assessment of the modern workplace, workforce desires, and employee needs.

Much thought-provoking content in here and interesting perspectives from numerous different business vantage points.

Helpful, insightful and a good read.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and a excellent resource which pulls together the dynamics of the post pandemic office. Particularly like the authors thinking on what physical offices could look like along with her thinking on how leadership has to build a new sense of culture and community in the hybrid era.

[Brittany]

Every single manager or someone with direct reports should read this. The M-F 9-5 is dead, and we should stop clinging onto this antiquated notion that work only gets done in the office. Hope that helps, kthxbye!

[Liz McSpadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must red for 2022

[Haley Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but got tired of reading in the end. Wish there were more action items for company leaders on how they can make the nowhere office successful.

[The Contented · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant listen via audiobook.

The most important takeaway for me? If something at work that is holding you back is your own construct, you can deconstruct it.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest discussion of how work needs to change to match / better align with the employees. Thought provoking. Great read for corporate managers and leaders.

[Tao Chen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty shallow and repetitive.

[Denys Percheklii · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a good summary of the pros and cons of the new hybrid and remote work.

However, not much solutions proposed.

[Armağan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be a good read for those who are not familiar with remote/hybrid work but I didn't get much out of this book

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you work at a corporate company, this book is so fascinating and relatable. timeline of how the workplace has shifted, pre and post-COVID-19. where we have come from & where we are headed.