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helenhester.bsky.social
Helen Hester
@helenhester.bsky.social
2.7K followers 1.1K following 94 posts
Post-work politics and technofeminism
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helenhester.bsky.social
The ides of merch
A blue tote bag promoting our new book, Post-Work, featuring the cover art, laid out beside a box of the same Me in a hallway with the bag on my shoulder
May 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
‘Post-work is the movement of our time. This is a super smart, accessible and comprehensive account of how to think about, implement and thrive in a society that is moving away from an outmoded work ethic to a new, more humane way of being. If you don't have time to read the many books being produced on this subject, just read this one. Essential reading for anyone worried about where we are going. Ideal for classes at all levels. And a must-have on the bookshelf. It's going straight onto my class reading list.’ Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology at Boston College and author of The Overworked American (1992) ‘I have waited a decade for a book like this to come along. With wide-eyed clarity, Hester and Stronge give the field of “post-work” the extended treatment and advancement it deserves. Bridging philosophy, labour history and policy debates, the book becomes more than a resource: it is a call for fresh forms of political intervention in a world where work is not working.’ David Frayne, author of The Refusal of Work (2015) ‘Helen Hester and Will Stronge’s excellent introduction to post-work thinking and politics is essential reading for anyone interested in the critique of work and in the possibilities of a life beyond work as we known it.’ Kathi Weeks, Author of The Problem with Work (2011)
February 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
Further endorsements for Hester and Stronge's 'Post-Work'. ‘Hester and Stronge guide their reader towards an understanding of what is at stake in our “negative freedom,” that is, our temporal freedom from the constraints of work. They care deeply about the ways labour changes our bodies, minds and ability to truly be with one another in meaningful and transformative ways. They want to rescue us from the work week. With clarity and precision, they show us precisely how what we will must be the driving force for any “post-work” future.’ Lola Olufemi, author of Feminism Interrupted (2020) ‘A remarkable synthesis of post-work thought and a hugely significant contribution to the debate around our shared future.’ Amelia Horgan, author of Lost in Work (2021) ‘Since the 19th century, nothing has signalled the victory of capitalism over those it exploits more forcefully than the recurring notion that work is something to be fought for, rather than against. In this landmark intervention, Hester and Stronge remind us that the fight for freedom can only be a struggle against work, while comprehensively surveying the field of contemporary post-work politics and making the case for its urgent indispensability.’ Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory, University of East London and co-author of Hegemony Now (2022)
February 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
Psst, buddy... Wanna see some endorsements?

My book with @wstronge.bsky.social is out this month. Here's some of the generous comments we received from kind and brilliant people.
Endorsements for the book 'Post-work: What it is, why it matters and how we get there' by Helen Hester and Will Stronge. The text reads: ‘A devastatingly clear critique of what is wrong with the world of work, and a dizzyingly exciting, but never naive, guide to the possibilities that exist to create something much better.’ Andy Beckett, Guardian and London Review of Books, and author of The Searchers (2024) and When the Lights Went Out (2009) ‘A thorough and accessible guide to post-work thinking, and a powerful challenge to our work-obsessed politics and culture. This book illuminates a path to a world in which we can live and breathe more freely.’ Daniel Chandler, author of Free and Equal (2023) ‘Post-Work makes the case for a world in which work no longer dominates our lives. Hester and Stronge’s incisive book shows how moving beyond the work ethic could improve the lives of everyone, as well as tackle political issues from climate change to gender inequality and disability discrimination. A compelling argument for work reduction as a key aspect of liberation.’ Alva Gotby, author of They Call It Love: The Politics of Emotional Life (2023) and Feeling at Home: Transforming the Politics of Housing (2024) ‘Confident, lucid, and irresistible, Post-Work lifts all existing leftist policy discussions by the seat of the pants and gives them a tremendous shake. This book gave me the same excited feeling I experienced reading The Problem with Work by Kathi Weeks in 2011. Helen Hester and Will Stronge have given us a potent antidote to the anti-utopianism that hovers like a deathly miasma over our fearful, burnt-out and catastrophic times. A crystal-clear case for revaluing, redistributing and (above all) reducing work.’ Sophie Lewis, author of Full Surrogacy Now (2019) and Abolish the Family (2022)
February 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
at the big tesco, wishing you all a very happy new year
A selfie of the author, resplendent in her new year finery, at the big Tesco
December 31, 2024 at 9:20 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
The energy I bring to the betwixtmas function
Detail from a festive mobile, handmade by my niece, featuring round, pink-faced elves with wild eyes and an aura of chaotic gaiety, seemingly hanging on for dear life.
December 29, 2024 at 9:54 PM
helenhester.bsky.social
Theme dressing for today's lecture on 'Annihilation'
Me in a navy knitted jumper emblazoned with the word 'NATURE', standing in front of a still from Alex Garland's film 'Annihilation', featuring a CGI image of a distorted once-human corpse in an abandoned swimming pool, now overrun with lichen-like organic matter. Nature FTW.
November 15, 2024 at 11:09 AM
helenhester.bsky.social
My kids just made this adorable festive scene out of magna-tiles, complete with traditional Lenin's Tomb 😊❤️🎄
A Christmas scene on a kitchen countertop, featuring a Christmas tree, two little houses, a cube and cuboid shape assembled from colourful magnetic construction tiles designed for children. A closer look at the rectangular cuboid reveals a stuffed figurine/doll inside, lying on its back and visible through the semi-transparent tiles. Mausoleum vibes abound.
November 12, 2024 at 11:57 PM