A History of the Office and Office Work: From Castle to Condominium

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 400 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 reinvention? How will office work evol