Industry TV Series and Office Design Book Explore Workplace Tragedy and Utopian Corruption

The series Industry, crafted by ex-finance experts, depicts the extreme environment of London's Pierpoint investment bank. In its inaugural season (2020-2022), the character Hari succumbs to the pressures of overwork, while the second season (2022) illustrates Harper Stern's remote work experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The narrative highlights the blurred lines between personal and professional life, emphasizing transactional networking. The cast features Harper Stern (Myha'la Herrold), Eric Tao (Ken Leung), and billionaire Jesse Bloom (Jay Duplass). Florian Idenburg and LeeAnn Suen's 2022 book, The Office of Good Intentions, examines office design's connection to overwork. The second season showcases Jesse Bloom in a ballroom filled with 15 screens, contrasting with previous workplace comedies and reflecting on Generation Z financiers. Both works delve into the transformation of utopian designs into self-subjugation.