The Future of Work Environments
Creating Liveable and Productive Working Habitats
Published on 18. July 2025
Book
Hardback
322 pages
978-1-0353-0977-1 (ISBN)
Description
Work is a strange and paradoxical thing. We need it, we are afraid of losing it, yet it has become more demanding and its future appears uncertain. Is this inevitable? Can our current experience of work and perceptions of the future of work get any better?
Werner Eichhorst provides a fresh view on the conditions of employment and working environments, investigating the evolution of paid work and mapping out ways it may develop in the future, considering what more liveable and productive working habitats for individuals could look like. He takes a comparative perspective on job quality and quantity and labour market institutions across Europe, offering a particular focus on the Rhenish countries. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, he brings together insights from the fields of economics, sociology, political economy and psychology, alongside everyday observations to discuss the key mechanisms behind paid work. This book also demonstrates the important contribution of individuals, public policies, and firm-level HR management to encourage productive and sustainable working environments.
Students and scholars of labour policy and economics, the sociology of work and organisations and political economy will greatly benefit from this incisive book. This accessible book also provides thought-provoking impulses to anyone concerned with the future of work and the individual situation at work.
Werner Eichhorst provides a fresh view on the conditions of employment and working environments, investigating the evolution of paid work and mapping out ways it may develop in the future, considering what more liveable and productive working habitats for individuals could look like. He takes a comparative perspective on job quality and quantity and labour market institutions across Europe, offering a particular focus on the Rhenish countries. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, he brings together insights from the fields of economics, sociology, political economy and psychology, alongside everyday observations to discuss the key mechanisms behind paid work. This book also demonstrates the important contribution of individuals, public policies, and firm-level HR management to encourage productive and sustainable working environments.
Students and scholars of labour policy and economics, the sociology of work and organisations and political economy will greatly benefit from this incisive book. This accessible book also provides thought-provoking impulses to anyone concerned with the future of work and the individual situation at work.
Reviews / Votes
'This must-read book by a stellar scholar with deep expertise on labor markets offers a profound and vivid exploration of individual experiences of work and inequalities, firm-level practices, and the role of public policy. Addressing key issues like flexibilization, AI, and workplace organization, it goes beyond standard solutions to envision good-quality work embedded in strong labor market institutions. With a comparative focus on continental Europe, it raises essential questions about the future of work, including its boundaries.' -- Janine Leschke, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark 'A fascinating and well-documented dive into the heart of contemporary forms of work which are fluid, mobile, flexible, but also unequal, precarious, and under pressure due to the rise of technology. This book is a stimulating plea to reassert the foundations of work and non-work. It will be valuable for students, scholars, policy makers, business leaders and citizens.' -- Christine Erhel, Centre for Employment and Labour Studies and Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, France 'This timely book builds on insights from individual behavior, management, and public policy to provide an empirically grounded overview of the social and technological mechanisms that have shaped the evolution of paid work, and a realistic and balanced assessment of the possibilities of obtaining better work environments in the future.' -- Arne L. Kalleberg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USAMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-0977-1 (9781035309771)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Werner Eichhorst, Professor Dr., IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, and University of Bremen, Germany
Content
Contents
Preface and acknowledgements
1 Introduction: dealing with the ambiguity of work
2 The Golden Age and the timeless Ancien Regime
3 The Great Flexibilisation
4 The fluid world of work of the early twenty-first century
5 Contemporary dynamisms
6 The rules of the game: power, knowledge and capital
7 Technology and the digital paradox
8 Towards a new panopticon or a more humane working habitat
9 The European laboratory
10 Good and bad policy options
11 Favourable terms of trade
12 Capital for all
13 The principle of the workshop
14 Solving the joint issues of production and distribution
15 The working habitat and the individuals
16 The non-work hinterland
17 As good as it gets
References
Index
Preface and acknowledgements
1 Introduction: dealing with the ambiguity of work
2 The Golden Age and the timeless Ancien Regime
3 The Great Flexibilisation
4 The fluid world of work of the early twenty-first century
5 Contemporary dynamisms
6 The rules of the game: power, knowledge and capital
7 Technology and the digital paradox
8 Towards a new panopticon or a more humane working habitat
9 The European laboratory
10 Good and bad policy options
11 Favourable terms of trade
12 Capital for all
13 The principle of the workshop
14 Solving the joint issues of production and distribution
15 The working habitat and the individuals
16 The non-work hinterland
17 As good as it gets
References
Index