Cubed

In the mid-nineteenth century clerical workers were called "clerks"--they were all men and they did their paperwork in the corners of dark workspaces and were considered questionable dandies. But as the great historical shifts from agricultural to industrial economies took place, and then from industrial to information economies, the organization of the workplace evolved along with them. Offices became rationalized, designed for both greater efficiency in the accomplishments of clerical work and the enhancement of worker productivity. Cubed opens our eyes to what is a truly "secret history" of changes so obvious and ubiquitous that we've hardly noticed them. From the era of closed door offices to the advent of the cubicles where 60% of Americans now work (and 93% of them dislike it), Cubed excavates from books, movies, comic strips (Dilbert!) and a vast amount of stuff you only thought was boring the reasons why the places we do our work are the way they are--and how they might be better.