How we Work(ed) – Reflections on the Past, Present and Future of work

It is simultaneously the worst of days and the best of days to start this blog of reflections on the past, present and future of work. It is the 5th November 2024, the day of the US elections. And the question that is lingering is (regardless of the outcome): How did we all end up in this terrible mess? This question can serve as a heading for what increasingly drives my interest in the history of work and the experience of working life since the 1970s both as a historian of 19th and 20th century history as well as a citizen and observer of contemporary society.

What I want to do here is therefore to raise questions about the world we live in, with people’s work life experiences over time as the prism through which I aim to make sense of the forces that shape the world at large. I will talk about my readings, my observations, my research and whatever comes my way and I hope this can before long turn into a useful resource for others and a channel to start a conversation.