A working bibliography

The Canon

The reference works The Work Theory draws on. Listed without ranking, without endorsement, without affiliate links — each appears alongside others recognised in the field.

Deep Work — Cal Newport

On the conditions modern knowledge work systematically prevents — and what people lose when they cannot concentrate.
Bullshit Jobs — David Graeber

On the proliferation of work that those doing it cannot themselves justify, and what its persistence reveals about the modern firm.
The End of Bias — Jessica Nordell

On unconscious bias, the limits of awareness as a fix, and what actually moves the numbers inside organisations.
The Organization Man — William H. Whyte

1956. On the social ethic of mid-century corporate America — still the cleanest mirror for what we kept and what we replaced.