Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss; in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, it is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves.

Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs, to explain why it is we do what we do all day, and through sympathy, humour and insight, to seek to help us make the most of it.