Work can be a route to creativity, excitement and purpose. Nevertheless, many of us also end up at points confused, discouraged and beaten by our work.

The temptation is to blame ourselves narrowly - and to feel privately ashamed and guilty. However, as this book lucidly explains, there are a range of well-embedded and intriguing reasons why work proves demoralising; reasons to do with the evolution of modern work, the role of technology and the mechanics of the economy.

This surprisingly cheering book offers us an invigorating perspective over our working lives - and what we might do at times when they challenge us almost unbearably.