Need something to read on your sun lounger? With a little more time on our hands, summer could be the time to pick up some interesting books. We recommend five to shed light on how the job market is changing and on the latest challenges in the world of work.
1. Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman. This book argues that we need a new utopia to find effective solutions for employment, poverty and social inequality. In other words: short to medium-term technical remedies designed simply to deal with employment figures are no longer enough. What is needed is a vision for the decades to come. Where do we want to go? In Bregman’s view, a happier society, where leisure is not considered as lost time and where people are “sensibly putting life above work”, is only possible with a shorter working week and greater flexibility. But beware: this does not mean short-term work contracts and putting people at risk on a ruthless labour market. To prevent that happening, governments have to step in to ensure that people do not struggle when they change jobs or when their contract expires. Thanks to a basic income, “cleansed of empty populist rhetoric”.
2. Taffo. Ironia della Morte (Taffo. The Irony of Death) by Riccardo Pirrone. This book is a perfect combination of light-heartedness and interesting topics for anyone working in the field of corporate communications and social media. A well-known phenomenon in Italy, Taffo is a funeral agency which, for some years now, has been advertising its services on social media channels through instant marketing campaigns. It takes advantage of everyday events with spoofs and hilarious memes carrying the company’s logo. The book analyses Taffo’s communication strategy to reveal why it is so successful.
A book reveals the secrets of Taffo, a social phenomenon involving funerals and current affairs
3. Steve Jobs non abita più qui (Steve Jobs no longer lives here) by Michele Masneri. This report on a journey through Silicon Valley, the epicentre of global transformation, reveals how California has changed over the last two decades. Journalist Masneri reports on the tech billionaires, innovative startups, the housing shortage and resulting speculation in San Francisco. Telling his story through events and people, including a visit to the brand new Apple headquarters in Cupertino and a chat with Mark Zuckerberg’s neighbours, Masneri reveals the face of the new economy in an America overwhelmed by Donald Trump’s politics.
4. Green Nation Revolution by Valentina Giannella and Lucia Esther Maruzzelli. Aimed mainly at younger generations, this book tells the stories of people engaged in the new green professions, jobs that allows us to move forward in the fight against climate change or existing jobs that have been redesigned in ecological terms. It also offers ideas and insights into the green jobs of the future, which could prove useful to any young person about to step into the world of work.
5. Lavorability (Workability) by Marco Montemagno, also known as The Tech Alchemist. Montemagno was one of the first to understand the potential of the web and social media channels. On his hugely successful YouTube channel, he interviews well-known celebrities and talks about innovation, marketing and the job market. That is exactly the topic of his book: jobs that soon will no longer exist and objects that are about to become obsolete. Getting ready for the future and understanding trends is the best way forward in times of change.