Office Shock Creating Better Futures for Working and Living

“A thoughtful, practical read about the future of the flexible office.”—Adam Grant

“Office shock” is an abrupt, unsettling change in where, when, how, and even why we work. In this visionary book, three prominent futurists argue that the office is both a place and a process—offices and officing—with a new range of choices, including what they call the emerging officeverse.

To see the possibilities with fresh eyes, we must use future-back thinking to ask, What is the purpose of your officing? What are the outcomes—especially regarding climate—you want to achieve? With whom do you want to office? How will you augment your intelligence? Where and when will you office? How will you create an agile office?

Traditional offices were often unfair, uncomfortable, uncreative, and unproductive. This book explores how to seize this great opportunity to transform office work.

Bob Johansen is a distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future in Silicon Valley. He has done forecasts for a wide range of corporations, including Procter & Gamble, Kellogg's, Disney, Intuit, Walmart, Syngenta, GlaxoSmithKline, and United Rentals. Johansen is the author or coauthor of twelve books, including Full-Spectrum Thinking, The New Leadership Literacies, Leaders Make the Future, Get There Early, and The Reciprocity Advantage.
 
Joseph Press joined the Institute for the Future as a futures advisor in 2020, following nearly five years of collaboration with Bob Johansen. Press leverages his architectural, consulting, and leadership expertise when working with leaders and organizations to change existing situations into preferred futures.
 
Christine Bullen is a retired industry professor who taught graduate courses in strategic information systems and global sourcing at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Prior to that, she was a senior lecturer at Fordham University Graduate Schools of Business and the Assistant Director for the MIT Center for Information Systems Research.