A groundbreaking global report, The United State of Work, will be published on 10th March 2025, marking five years since the world went into lockdown. Edited by Julia Hobsbawm, Founder and CEO of the work trends network Workathon, the report presents a compelling vision for the future of work and calls for the establishment of a World Work Organization (WWO)—a new global body dedicated to addressing work in all its complexity, akin to the World Health Organization after World War II.
‘Work unites us’: A call for a global framework
Julia Hobsbawm highlights the urgent need for a fresh approach to governing, leading, and organising work worldwide:
“Work unites us: 3.5 billion people work or seek work daily, making it the most universal human activity beyond being born or dying. Despite this, work remains fragmented across policy, leadership, and industry, with decision-makers often addressing issues in silos rather than as interconnected challenges.
2025 echoes 1945—a time for rebuilding and reimagining work at a global scale. That is why Workathon is advocating for the creation of the World Work Organization: a dedicated institution that prioritizes work as a human-centric challenge requiring strategic, unified action.”
A comprehensive look at work trends and challenges
With a foreword by Professor Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, The United State of Work is divided into two sections:
- A retrospective analysis of work from 2020 to 2025, featuring expert essays on the impact of the pandemic, evolving workplace cultures, technology, wellbeing, leadership, and the global economy.
- New research findings from a 12-country study on post-pandemic work patterns, alongside UK and US white-collar workforce insights on AI adoption, workplace conflict, and government policy.
Key contributors & themes
The report brings together leading global thinkers, including:
- Peter Miscovich and Flore Pradere (JLL) – The transformation of work from 2020 to 2025
- Kevin J. Delaney (Charter) – How America works today
- Virginie Raphael (FullCircle) – Investing in the future of work
- Brian Elliott (Work Forward) & Ben Page (Ipsos) – The great return-to-office (RTO) debate
- Melis Abacıoğlu (Wellbees) & Tom Redmayne (Industrious) – The rise of well-working workplaces
- Stefan Stern (The Nowhere Office) – Voices of work from the pandemic
- Paul Brannen (former MEP) – Biophilic workplaces: the case for wood in office design
- Harriet Pellereau (Mind over Tech) & Emma Thwaites (The Open Data Institute) – AI and technology’s new challenges
The final section, authored by Workathon’s William Corke, explores why traditional work research methods must evolve. Julia Hobsbawm concludes the report with a compelling argument for the World Work Organization, reinforcing the need for an institutional framework to tackle work-related challenges on a global scale.
Publication and availability
The United State of Work is Workathon’s first published report and will be released online on Monday, 10th March 2025. Pre-orders are now open.
Content Team
Work in Mind is a content platform designed to give a voice to thinkers, businesses, journalists and regulatory bodies in the field of healthy buildings.
