Co-workers

By the book: fictional workplaces

We often feature non-fiction books in The Work Buzz blog that discuss career trends and offer job seekers advice on everything from resumes to retirement.

Here are some fictional books that focused at least partly on the workplace.

Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Devil Wears Prada. These are two examples of funny fictional works with young professional women as protagonists. Bridget Jones and Andie Sachs both find their way into the publishing world, and the reader follows their journeys as they both try to fit into a new, competitive environment.

Mergers and Acquisitions. Author Dana Vachon’s subject matter parallels his own life: he was formerly an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase. The main character, Tommy Quinn, is also a fish out of water in his new role in the financial world, and navigates a complex web of co-workers and friends, with an unstable girlfriend to distract him.

Empire Falls. Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2001 book deals with a familar but disappearing workplace – a factory in the center of Empire Falls that employed and sustained its citizens and the town itself. Through its fictional characters, the book underscores the effects that the loss of those jobs can have on a small town.

So what are your favorite fictional books where the office, factory or workplace plays a big role?

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