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A Secret History of the Workplace

Nikil Saval

Doubleday Broadway, 2014

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Innovative

Recommendation

The Industrial Revolution helped give rise to the office – where people today push paper, thump keyboards, play politics and earn not-always-equal amounts of money. The increasing popularity of telecommuting and contract work puts the office on the verge of enormous change. Journalist Nikil Saval walks you through the evolution of today’s white-collar world. He deftly cites Herman Melville’s 1853 short story Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street and the 1999 film Office Space, while providing a short, fascinating course on architecture and its effects on people’s work and their emotions. getAbstract recommends Saval’s eye-opening essay to anybody who works in an office and wonders what’s to come.

Take-Aways

Clerking began when the Industrial Revolution made keeping records necessary.
By the 1920s, the office had become an automated workplace for men and women.
In the early 20th century, scientific management or Taylorism instituted workflow efficiency processes; this shifted knowledge from workers to managers.

About the Author

Nikil Saval is a writer, journalist and editor for the digital/print magazine n+1.

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A. V. 9 years ago

Was a good reading. I liked to understand the birth of the office and its evolution to the present day (Without forget th future!)

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