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, bestselling author of The Power of Habit).
If you think you’ve been working from home recently, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen are here to tell you otherwise. What we’ve been doing is something else entirely, a jury-rigged compromise made under the duress of a national crisis that’s satisfactory for neither the worker nor the employer. For Warzel and Petersen, the past year has revealed that there may be another path forward for work, one that doesn’t involve hellish daily commutes and the demands of jam-packed work schedules that no longer make sense. As a society, we have talked for decades about flexible work arrangements. In this book, the authors make clear that we are at an inflection point where this becomes possible for many companies and their employees.
Out of Office combines groundbreaking reporting and the couple’s own experiences after they made the decision to leave their desk jobs in New York City for Montana. They describe how workers and employers across America, and around the world, are finding new ways of working that make people happier and more productive, and make companies more profitable. This is a book that aims to reshape our entire relationship to the office.
“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 candor, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen highlight what too many workplaces are doing wrong—and how we can start getting it right.” —Adam Grant, author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“Insightful and timely. . . . Never sacrificing meaningful analysis for easy answers, this is a remarkable examination of the rapidly-changing workplace.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“If 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
“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, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“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 returnto work now occurring provides the opportunity, and this book provides a roadmap.” —Booklist
