A History of the Office and Office Work

This book brings together the office and office working as an economic construct, as a business function, as a building type and as a mode of work. It explores social and economic relations, and it traces the evolution of work and the environment and equipment needed to support it over the last four hundred years. In so doing it helps to fill a void in popular understanding of the office.

The role of the office has been examined over the past three years in ways that it has never been examined before. Whilst the existential crisis arising from Covid-19 has settled somewhat, there remain big questions over the future of office workers and office real estate. This book is a timely, well researched and fascinating contribution to the debate.

Rob Harris explores how the nature of work has changed, and continues to change, placing the events surrounding Covid-19 into a longer term perspective and asking what is the future of the office? Will it go through a radical re-invention? How will office work evolve in the future? Whither office buildings? The book emphasises the continuum of change and that today’s events are simply the latest stage of change, rather than something entirely novel.

This book will be of interest to anyone with a stake in the built environment, whether as an investor, occupier, owner, manager or advisor. It is equally accessible to those with a non-technical background, including students on courses including economic history; economics, geography, real estate and urban planning.