When we think about work, we still tend to think about offices and factories. Missing from the picture are hospitals and homes - the places where care work takes place. We hear often about the crisis of work - precarious jobs, zero hours contracts, outsourcing and automation - but thinking about work through the lens of care gives these problems a whole new perspective.
In this groundbreaking work, Hester and Srnicek argue that not only is there a crisis of work, there is also a crisis of reproduction - an ageing population means an increasing dependency ratio, years of austerity measures cutting back on social reproduction elements of the welfare state, private provision failing, and fewer people available to do unpaid work with more women in the workforce and retirement ages rising. The good news is that i' s a crisis that can and should be tackled. But only by completely rethinking the way we organise our living arrangements and organise care work, and remaining open to the automation of work done in the home.
After Work is a crucial intervention into the debates about the future of work, extending its attention beyond paid jobs, to the impact of domestic work upon familial relationships, social bonds, and our very conceptions of domestic space.