WORKSTYLE
Read the full story of workstyle - how it can elevate your wellbeing, step-change your productivity and have a lasting impact on society by creating an inclusive system of work that everyone can be part of.
The
revolutionary
book
from Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst that will change the way you work forever.
Change the world, and your life, today!
‘If you, like me, are bored of the endless buzzwords around work and want to see actual change to our wellbeing and lives, Workstyle is here to save the day. Empowering, galvanising and exciting, this is just what we need to believe there is another way, and it's right here, right now.’
— Emma Gannon, bestselling author of The Multi-Method and (Dis)connected
FOREWORD BY Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley CH
‘Today, as Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst show, working from anywhere at any time has been made possible by advances in technology unguessed at when I started out, back in the era of pencils and paper, typewriters and telephones. What the authors call “workstyle” is as revolutionary today as the flexibility my company offered was all those years ago.’
Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley CH is an ardent venture philanthropist with an unrelenting energy for creating positive change. She arrived in England as an unaccompanied child refugee at the start of the Second World War, and in 1962 started a software business, Freelance Programmers, employing only women, all of whom worked from home. The business was built around people who wanted to fit their work around their lives, rather than adhering to the rigid timetables and structures of conventional employment. Something that was unheard of at the time. It was an enormous success - growing to employ 8,500 people and ultimately valued at almost $3 billion. You could say that Dame Stephanie was the OG workstyler and we are incredibly honoured that she has written the foreword for the book.
‘Written in a hugely engaging way, this book explains how the Workstyle approach can have a positive impact not just on the person, their health and wellbeing, but on our businesses, enabling us to generate superior results, and also on wider society. One day we will look back and wonder how we ever worked any other way!’
— Jon Marlow, Managing Director, Divine Chocolate
‘Lizzie and Alex are reinventing the way the world works. Read this vivid and inspiring story of how each and every individual can (and should!) be able to craft their ideal workstyle.’
— Pim de Morree, co-founder, Corporate Rebels
Meet the authors
Lizzie And ALex
Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst are friends, entrepreneurs, inspiring speakers and changemakers.
They have been leading the workstyle revolution for a decade,
co-founding a social enterprise, Hoxby, in 2014 to prove the concept.
They have helped thousands of workstylers around the world to set, project and respect their own workstyles, and are conducting pioneering research into the link between autonomy, productivity
and wellbeing. Their business has delivered projects in a workstyle way for some of the biggest brands in the world. Lizzie has three young children, lives in Bristol, and has recently recovered from breast cancer.
Alex suffered from debilitating burnout, before starting a family and leaving London for a village
in rural Oxfordshire. Together they came up with the concept of workstyle in response to their
negative experiences of a 9–5 traditional working week.
They are regular speakers at events to inspire others about the transformational effect of workstyle
and have been featured in the Financial Times, the Telegraph, Stylist, Men’s Health, Marie Claire,
Metro and the Guardian, amongst others.
A little more about the book…
Workstyle is the freedom to choose when and where you work. This Sunday Times bestselling book lays out the full story of workstyle – from its inception in the pub, through profoundly inspiring stories of the lives it has changed, to the impact it will have on the world by levelling the playing field and creating true inclusivity and accessibility in our society.
Lizzie and Alex take us through the history of work, where the 9–5 came from, and why the time is right for change. They explain how workstyle differs from flexible, hybrid, or remote working, and why it matters. Most importantly, they introduce the idea that you can design your own workstyle, by reflecting on the things that matter to you, acting to change your life and inspiring others to do the same, all underpinned by research that proves that this is a better way to work for us all.
This book is for everyone who has had to take a day off work to receive a delivery or go to a doctor's appointment. It is for anyone who has caring responsibilities, for parents, for those with illnesses, with mental health issues, who feel burnt out, or who are living with disabilities. It is for those who are older, who identify as neurodiverse or who consider themselves different in any way. It is for people who feel disenchanted with work and want to live a meaningful, fulfilled life. It is for anyone who questions why they need to commute to an office to be productive. It is for every person who has a life outside of work. This book is for everyone. This book is for you.
JOIN THE REVOLUTION
Book resources
Here you can find links to all the brilliant resources mentioned in the book.
Meet the workstylers
Chapter 1
Watch more inspiring, life-changing workstyle stories like those featured in the book, in the Workstyle Stories vlog, hosted by Alex Hirst.
Sir Bobby O
Chapter 3
Read more about the many brilliant aspects of Sir Bobby O’s social reform on the memorial website and explore his series of essays which were gathered into a single book, ‘A New View of Society’.
Tools
Chapter 8
Encourage your organisation to move to adopt workstyle and output-based working. Check out our tools to help you do this.