Is the way we work bad for us?

Beyond Today

BBC

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2019

⏱️ 23 minutes

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Summary

Office space company We Work have just released their prospectus ahead of their stock market flotation next month. Their vision of the future of work is a utopian one forged from the Silicon Valley tech boom. It’s a vision of work-based community that some say creates a culture of ‘hustle porn.’ We speak to Wall Street Journal business podcast presenter Kim Gittleson about whether they can deliver on their promises. We also speak to Maddy Savage about modern work culture and how striving for perfection has permeated many aspects of millennial life. She reports from Sweden, the capital of work-life balance, where a growing number of young people are seeking help for clinical ‘burnout.’ Producers: Lucy Hancock, Duncan Barber, Sean Allsop Mixed by Andy Mills Editor: John Shields

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:06.2	Hello, I'm Tina Dehealey. Welcome to Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4.
0:10.8	A space to ask one big question about one big story every day.
0:15.0	Today we're asking, is the way we work bad for us?
0:27.0	I think it's really hard when you're starting out to follow your dreams. I think it's really, really hard.
0:39.0	We started in our living room essentially. and I think what's appealing about
0:43.2	we work for us as a company is that it makes your life extremely easy.
0:46.5	This promotional video for we work is basically a tech utopian's vision of the future.
0:53.0	A man walks around a bright, sleekly designed office in a hoodie that says,
0:59.0	work hard, design harder.
1:02.0	We're really strive to help you as much as we can.
1:04.0	Focus on doing what you love.
1:06.0	The company's co-founder Adam Newmans wearing a t-shirt that says,
1:09.0	hustle.
1:10.0	On the wall, there's a neon sign that reads respect the hustle and another
1:16.0	motivational message on a forest background saying yes you can.
1:20.8	Big part of the team has really taken advantage of the fact that it's such a community.
1:25.1	The ecosystem has provided a really great place for our team to grow.
1:31.6	This is a vision of work that goes way beyond just office space.
1:35.0	It's something that perhaps we're all more signed up to than we think.
1:39.0	The idea that we don't just go to work, but that work is our identity. We're going to hear from
1:45.4	someone who's looked at what respecting the hustle too much could be doing to
	...

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