Working Assumptions: What We Thought We Knew About Work Before Covid and Generative AI - And What We Know Now

A rapid response to the seismic changes affecting working life, Working Assumptions covers the past, present and future of work and has already been described as “a must-read for anybody concerned about the future of work” (Carl Benedikt Frey, Associate Professor of AI & Work, Oxford University).

Written by award-winning writer and popular podcaster Julia Hobsbawm, whose landmark 2022 book The Nowhere Office, predicted the rise in hybrid working long before anyone else, Working Assumptions is a clear-eyed view of what Julia identifies as ‘The Amazing Age’ – a new era replete with challenge and opportunity for all working people experiencing a pace of technological and cultural change not seen in over a century.

“Written with deep insights and a sharp wit, Julia Hobsbawm’s Working Assumptions is an indispensable guide to the future of work, in no small part because it roots every new trend in somewhere that we’ve been before. Working Assumptions is required reading for anyone who’s leading the way forward in the world of work – or worried about where they’re being led.” Brian Elliott, co-founder of Future Forum, bestselling author of How the Future Works

With a preface by Professor Lynda Gratton of London Business School, Working Assumptions explores the speed and scale of the impact of Covid-19 and the eruption of Chat GPT on the world of work in six key areas: jobs, skills, the workplace, culture, wellbeing and generational attitudes. Its highly innovative and readable format contains illustration by both human artists and ChatGPT, and combines crunchy data with stories from popular culture about work, ranging from from Barbie to Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’; from Succession to – of course – The Office.

Working Assumptions addresses the influence of America on the world of work for the past century and asks whether it will dominate as much in the future.