We’ve started brainstorming ideas for the next issue of the magazine, and like we’ve done twice before, we’re asking for your help. This time, we’re shining our spotlight on the idea of work: How do we work, what does how we work say about us, and how can we make work better for the economy, the worker, and the world?
Partly that just means working better—the more efficient we are at our jobs, the more potential there is for us to be productive and to move the world forward. And there are plenty of people who have a lot to say on the subject: Jason Fried, Scott Belsky, the folks at Lifehacker, Dan Pink, Merlin Mann, Gary Vaynerchuk, and many more (and maybe you can help us add some ladies to that list).
Where are the best places to work? And what earns them that distinction? Fortune has their list of the best companies to work for. We know companies like Netflix have cool vacation policies. But we also know that for people of this generation, work means something different than just a paycheck.
Speaking of people of this generation, it’s amazing how many of them don’t have jobs. The New York Times has been on this. Gawker has too. The Atlantic talks about a jobless recovery. And people are wondering: Is college for everyone?
For those who do work, life around the office isn’t what it was several decades ago. As The Atlantic pointed out, gender roles are changing. So is the lunch hour (it’s disappeared). Vacation and retirement are being re-imagined (see Stefan Sagmeister’s take). And then there’s the politics of the office fridge.
Talking to people about why they work is always interesting. Studs Turkel did it, famously, with Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do in the 1970s. And ReadyMade does a pretty sweet job with their How Did You Get That Fucking Awesome Job series.
Phil Toledano did a photo essay on bankruptcy. How about a visual history of the cubicle? Steven Johnson always has fun workplace ideas. Or perhaps we should make an infographic about the number of employees you could hire for the cost of one CEO.
The point is, we have a lot of ideas, but we’re always looking for more. What should we include in this issue?
