GOOD Magazine Issue 021: The Work Issue

Whether caught in the drudgery of a dead-end job, turning a passion into a career, or supporting a family by whatever means necessary, we all have to work. Given that reality, it's strange we don't do more to improve our working lives.

It may seem like an odd time to talk about work, since it's in such short supply. But when work is plentiful, we take it for granted. You go to work. You get your paycheck. You go back to work. Now—when work is foremost in our minds—might be the best time to change our bad habits.

Let this issue, then, serve as a starting point for a new generation of workers to rethink the conditions of their labor. In doing so, maybe we can emerge from this recession not just with a revitalized economy, but with a new way of thinking about the activity we all spend most of our waking hours doing. Let's get to work.

← Cover art by Christoph Niemann

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The Lost Generation

What it's like for 20-somethings to go in search of meaningful work—and not find it.

Working, Not Working

People talk about what they do, what they don't do, and how they feel about it.

Five artists explore what it means to work today.

Alternative Entrepreneurs

Eight successful people doing exactly what they want.

Automation Insurance

Robots are replacing middle class jobs.

Class Dismissed

Eight successful entrepreneurs who didn't go to college.

Work Displacement

Steven M. Johnson imagines future workspaces.

Schools of a Different Sort

Four alternatives to traditional education.

All Together Now

Being a freelancer doesn't mean you have to work from your couch.

America's Dirtiest Interview

Mike Rowe talks about work, and the virtue of good old fashioned filth.

Top 20 Perks

Nothing takes a job from good to great (or terrible to tolerable) like a healthy set of benefits.

Thirty Places We Want to Work

Places that inspire us to make our own company better.

Beer / Coffee

The Work Issue graphic statement, by The Pencil Factory.

All Work and No Play

A day in the life of an unemployee.

Learning to love what you do—or do what you love.

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