From the Raven: The Future of (Fictional) Work is Anything But Friendly
It's a common refrain for people to say they hate work, but then why does it occupy so much of our imagination?
By Leah Eichler,
Try as we might, it’s hard to escape work, even in our dreams. The workplace — a necessary reality for many of us, has always impacted art and found its way into our creative thoughts, from The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger to The Circle by David Eggers. Some may love their workplace, while other hate it, but its attributes offer such a commonality that it’s hard to ignore.
I should know. I spent almost 7 years writing about the workplace for the Globe and Mail, from The Double Standards Women Face (I wrote about this theme a lot) to How to Manage Office Romances to How to Avoid Politics at the Office. But one of my favourites, was How to Define Ourselves in a Post-Jobs Society. It was no secret, even many years ago, that the social contract between employee-employer was gone. In an environment where the question “Who are You?” is often interpreted as “What Do You Do” and “Where Do You Work?” I wanted us to be prepared.
So, when I launched Esoterica, it was no surprise that I continued that theme. My first essay here was Honey, A Robot Took My Job and That’s OK.
What did surprise me was how often the workplace played a central role or character in the short fiction we received. Last week we published Kirsten Smith’s The Washable Dream, which frighteningly portrays a near, dystopian future where people compete against AI at work.
Spreadsheet People, by Emily Zasada, which won Esoterica’s inaugural short story contest, also chilling covered the workplace.
“It was a Monday afternoon, and the spreadsheet people were at it again,” Zasada writes. When the spreadsheet people begin to communicate, that when things get really chilling.
Early on in Esoterica’s life, we ran a comical, theological romp by Derek Alan Jones, called “Maybe Talk to Carl.” In this case, a temp — that quintessential role of the current workplace — is given way too much leeway without much instruction and takes a misstep that snowballs in a humourous and thought-provoking way.
At Esoterica, we’ve decided to lean into this theme and will aim to publish our first book of short stories on the topic of the workplace. We are looking for stories ideally under 4000 words, where the workplace plays a central role. Details available on Submittable.
**Paid subscribers of this newsletter can pitch Esoterica directly. Either pop your idea in the comments (only available for paid subscribers) or email us at editor(at)Esotericamag.com.** Become a Founding Member and we will offer personal feedback on your story to make sure it shines.
We can’t wait to see what you have written.
Yours in reading and writing,
Leah Eichler
What I am Reading This Week:
Fed’s Powell Tricked by Russian Pranksters posing as Zelenskiy - Bloomberg. I mean, do the Fed chair and the Ukrainian President have each other on speed dial that it seemed like no biggie for Powell to get that call? Don’t they have inside jokes? Is there an aide somewhere who could have stepped in? So many questions.
Tucker’s Successor will be Worse - the Atlantic. Many of us are thinking it, but who will replace the dude that endorsed the Replacement Theory? Chills.
Six Literary Pieces that Almost Didn’t See the Light of Day - The Big Think. Even some classics struggled to get to print. For writers, these stories are golden.
Twitter celebrities indignant that they now have a blue checkmark. They don’t want to pay for it, and don’t want it for free. In fact they just want to be left alone. - Slate
What I am Watching:
Sweet Tooth - How much did I love this show when it came out? This second season did not disappoint. Like the workplace, it taps into all the themes that keep us up at night: pandemics, environmental degradation, and the optimism that we feel when animals get the upper hand.