
The Last Human Job
The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.97
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Allison J. Pugh
-
By:
-
Allison J. Pugh
About this listen
In this audiobook, Allison Pugh makes a timely and urgent argument for preserving the work that connects us in the age of automation
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and labor-saving technologies like self-checkouts and automated factories, the future of work has never been more uncertain, and even jobs requiring high levels of human interaction are no longer safe. The Last Human Job explores the human connections that underlie our work, arguing that what people do for each other in these settings is valuable and worth preserving.
Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations with people in a broad range of professions—from physicians, teachers, and coaches to chaplains, therapists, caregivers, and hairdressers—Allison Pugh develops the concept of “connective labor,” a kind of work that relies on empathy, the spontaneity of human contact, and a mutual recognition of each other’s humanity. The threats to connective labor are not only those posed by advances in AI or apps; Pugh demonstrates how profit-driven campaigns imposing industrial logic shrink the time for workers to connect, enforce new priorities of data and metrics, and introduce standardized practices that hinder our ability to truly see each other. She concludes with profiles of organizations where connective labor thrives, offering practical steps for building a social architecture that works.
Vividly illustrating how connective labor enriches the lives of individuals and binds our communities together, The Last Human Job is a compelling argument for us to recognize, value, and protect humane work in an increasingly automated and disconnected world.
©2024 Allison J. Pugh (P)2024 Princeton University PressListeners also enjoyed...
-
Careless People
- A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
- By: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Narrated by: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
-
-
Only a few hours in
- By Cody Konior on 03-24-25
-
Miracles and Wonder
- The Historical Mystery of Jesus
- By: Elaine Pagels
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in her career, Elaine Pagels changed our understanding of the origins of Christianity with her work in The Gnostic Gospels. Now, in the culmination of a decades-long career, she explores the biggest subject of all, Jesus. In Miracles and Wonder she sets out to discover how a poor young Jewish man inspired a religion that shaped the world.
-
-
I had high hopes for this title
- By Christine on 04-02-25
By: Elaine Pagels
-
Equality
- What It Means and Why It Matters
- By: Thomas Piketty, Michael J. Sandel
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart, Stephen Graybill
- Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling dialogue, two of the world’s most influential thinkers reflect on the value of equality and debate what citizens and governments should do to narrow the gaps that separate us. Ranging across economics, philosophy, history, and current affairs, Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel consider how far we have come in achieving greater equality. At the same time, they confront head-on the extreme divides that remain in wealth, income, power, and status nationally and globally.
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
Tiny Experiments
- How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
- By: Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Narrated by: Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life isn’t linear, and yet we try to mold it around linear goals: four-year college degrees, ten-year career plans, thirty-year mortgages. What if instead we approached life as a giant playground for experimentation? Based on ancestral philosophy and the latest scientific research, Tiny Experiments provides a desperately needed reframing: Uncertainty can be a state of expanded possibility and a space for metamorphosis. Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals that all you need is an experimental mindset to turn challenges into self-discovery and doubt into opportunity.
-
-
A Refreshing Take on Growth and Creativity!
- By Naya on 03-05-25
-
Aflame
- Learning from Silence
- By: Pico Iyer
- Narrated by: Pico Iyer
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pico Iyer has made more than one hundred retreats over the past three decades to a small Benedictine hermitage high above the sea in Big Sur, California. He’s not a Christian—or a member of any religious group—but his life has been transformed by these periods of time spent in silence. That silence reminds him of what is essential and awakens a joy that nothing can efface. It’s not just freedom from distraction and noise and rush: it’s a reminder of some deeper truths he misplaced along the way. In Aflame, Iyer connects with inner stillness and joy in his many seasons at the monastery.
-
-
The title is misleading. The book doesn't explore "silence" but only talks about being on tge periphery of monasteries.
- By Placeholder on 01-26-25
By: Pico Iyer
-
The Extinction of Experience
- Being Human in a Disembodied World
- By: Christine Rosen
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Extinction of Experience, Christine Rosen investigates the cultural and emotional shifts that accompany our embrace of technology. In warm, philosophical prose, Rosen reveals key human experiences at risk of going extinct, including face-to-face communication, sense of place, authentic emotion, and even boredom. Considering cultural trends, like TikTok challenges and mukbang, and politically unsettling phenomena, like sociometric trackers and online conspiracy culture, Rosen exposes an unprecedented shift in the human condition, one that habituates us to alienation and control.
-
-
Insightful!
- By Face on 05-04-25
By: Christine Rosen
-
Careless People
- A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
- By: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Narrated by: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
-
-
Only a few hours in
- By Cody Konior on 03-24-25
-
Miracles and Wonder
- The Historical Mystery of Jesus
- By: Elaine Pagels
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in her career, Elaine Pagels changed our understanding of the origins of Christianity with her work in The Gnostic Gospels. Now, in the culmination of a decades-long career, she explores the biggest subject of all, Jesus. In Miracles and Wonder she sets out to discover how a poor young Jewish man inspired a religion that shaped the world.
-
-
I had high hopes for this title
- By Christine on 04-02-25
By: Elaine Pagels
-
Equality
- What It Means and Why It Matters
- By: Thomas Piketty, Michael J. Sandel
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart, Stephen Graybill
- Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this compelling dialogue, two of the world’s most influential thinkers reflect on the value of equality and debate what citizens and governments should do to narrow the gaps that separate us. Ranging across economics, philosophy, history, and current affairs, Thomas Piketty and Michael Sandel consider how far we have come in achieving greater equality. At the same time, they confront head-on the extreme divides that remain in wealth, income, power, and status nationally and globally.
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
Tiny Experiments
- How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
- By: Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Narrated by: Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life isn’t linear, and yet we try to mold it around linear goals: four-year college degrees, ten-year career plans, thirty-year mortgages. What if instead we approached life as a giant playground for experimentation? Based on ancestral philosophy and the latest scientific research, Tiny Experiments provides a desperately needed reframing: Uncertainty can be a state of expanded possibility and a space for metamorphosis. Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals that all you need is an experimental mindset to turn challenges into self-discovery and doubt into opportunity.
-
-
A Refreshing Take on Growth and Creativity!
- By Naya on 03-05-25
-
Aflame
- Learning from Silence
- By: Pico Iyer
- Narrated by: Pico Iyer
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pico Iyer has made more than one hundred retreats over the past three decades to a small Benedictine hermitage high above the sea in Big Sur, California. He’s not a Christian—or a member of any religious group—but his life has been transformed by these periods of time spent in silence. That silence reminds him of what is essential and awakens a joy that nothing can efface. It’s not just freedom from distraction and noise and rush: it’s a reminder of some deeper truths he misplaced along the way. In Aflame, Iyer connects with inner stillness and joy in his many seasons at the monastery.
-
-
The title is misleading. The book doesn't explore "silence" but only talks about being on tge periphery of monasteries.
- By Placeholder on 01-26-25
By: Pico Iyer
-
The Extinction of Experience
- Being Human in a Disembodied World
- By: Christine Rosen
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Extinction of Experience, Christine Rosen investigates the cultural and emotional shifts that accompany our embrace of technology. In warm, philosophical prose, Rosen reveals key human experiences at risk of going extinct, including face-to-face communication, sense of place, authentic emotion, and even boredom. Considering cultural trends, like TikTok challenges and mukbang, and politically unsettling phenomena, like sociometric trackers and online conspiracy culture, Rosen exposes an unprecedented shift in the human condition, one that habituates us to alienation and control.
-
-
Insightful!
- By Face on 05-04-25
By: Christine Rosen
-
The Book of Alchemy
- A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life
- By: Suleika Jaouad
- Narrated by: Suleika Jaouad, Vidish Athavale, Fabian Cook Jr., and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the time she was young, Suleika Jaouad has kept a journal. She’s used it to mark life's biggest occasions and to weather its most ferocious storms. Journaling has buoyed her through illness, heartbreak, and the deepest uncertainty. And she is not alone: for so many people, keeping a journal is an essential tool for navigating both the personal peaks and valleys and the collective challenges of modern life. More than ever, we need a space for puzzling through.
By: Suleika Jaouad
-
Memorial Days
- A Memoir
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz–just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy–collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk.
-
-
Uninspired, mediocre writing.
- By C. Tyler on 03-04-25
By: Geraldine Brooks
-
If I Betray These Words
- Moral Injury in Medicine and Why It's So Hard for Clinicians to Put Patients First
- By: Wendy Dean, Simon Talbot
- Narrated by: Wendy Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offering examples of how to make medicine better for the healers and those they serve, If I Betray These Words profiles clinicians across the country who are tough, resourceful, and resilient, but feel trapped between the patient-first values of their Hippocratic oath and the business imperatives of a broken healthcare system. If I Betray These Words confronts the threat and broken promises of moral injury—what it is; where it comes from; how it manifests; and who’s fighting back against it. We need better healthcare—for patients and for the workforce. It’s time to act.
-
-
Dust bowl
- By Doc on 04-12-23
By: Wendy Dean, and others
-
Survival of the Richest
- Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires
- By: Douglas Rushkoff
- Narrated by: Douglas Rushkoff
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. In a dozen urgent, electrifying chapters, he confronts tech utopianism, the datafication of all human interaction, and the exploitation of that data by corporations. Through fascinating characters, Rushkoff explains why those with the most power to change our current trajectory have no interest in doing so.
-
-
It promises much and delivers too little.
- By jim on 12-28-22
By: Douglas Rushkoff
-
Magic Words
- By: Jonah Berger
- Narrated by: Keith Nobbs
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Jonah Berger’s cutting-edge research reveals how six types of words can increase your impact in every area of life: from persuading others and building stronger relationships, to boosting creativity and motivating teams.
-
-
good book minus the progressive flare-up
- By H.B. on 06-06-23
By: Jonah Berger
-
The War Below
- Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
- By: Ernest Scheyder
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The War Below reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches.
-
-
Misses its chance at greatness
- By B L on 09-16-24
By: Ernest Scheyder
-
Forgive for Love
- The Missing Ingredient for a Healthy and Lasting Relationship
- By: Dr. Fred Luskin
- Narrated by: Adam Lofbomm
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This groundbreaking book from the frontiers of psychology offers startling new research about the one missing factor that is vital to relationships - forgiveness. A national best-selling author and leading expert on forgiveness, Dr. Fred Luskin shows that no matter how much two people may love each other, their relationship will not succeed unless they practice forgiveness - an approach that most relationship experts continue to ignore.
-
-
Great content
- By Matt Daniels on 03-13-25
By: Dr. Fred Luskin
-
Inspire
- The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others
- By: Adam Galinsky
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Social psychologist and leadership expert Adam Galinsky has spent three decades building a method for determining when we are inspiring versus infuriating, and where various leaders—presidents, CEOs, coaches, teachers, parents, and a wealth of others—currently land on that spectrum. Galinsky shows how inspiring leaders can fill us with a wellspring of hope and possibility as they guide us to become better versions of ourselves. In contrast, infuriating leaders disappoint and annoy, fueling seething cauldrons of rage.
By: Adam Galinsky
-
Stolen Pride
- Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right
- By: Arlie Russell Hochschild
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For all the attempts to understand the state of American politics and the blue/red divide, we've ignored what economic and cultural loss can do to pride. What happens, Arlie Russell Hochschild asks, when a proud people in a hard-hit region suffer the deep loss of pride and are confronted with a powerful political appeal that makes it feel "stolen"? Hochschild's research drew her to Pikeville, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia, within the whitest and second-poorest congressional district in the nation.
-
-
Time of research
- By ChiChi's Rule on 05-06-25
-
The Virtues of Aging
- By: Jimmy Carter
- Narrated by: Jimmy Carter
- Length: 2 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Virtues? What could possibly be good about growing old?" That's the response former President Jimmy Carter received when he mentioned the title of this book. Indeed, the thought of aging causes people to worry about the physical aspect of it as well as the prejudice that exists toward the elderly. Carter demonstrates, however, that there are indeed virtues to aging, exploring the possibility of spiritual and intellectual growth in old age. This inspirational audio version is narrated by Carter himself.
-
-
A Must for the Aging
- By Chris on 11-29-03
By: Jimmy Carter
-
Erasing History
- By: Jason Stanley
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Combining historical research with an in-depth analysis of our modern political landscape, Erasing History issues a dire warning for America and the world: the worst fascist movements of humanity’s past began in schools; the same place so many of today’s right-wing political parties have trained their most vicious attacks. Yale professor Jason Stanley exposes the true danger of the right’s tactics and traces their inspirations and funding back to some of the most dangerous ideas of human history.
-
-
The bias attitude of the author
- By Elizabeth ohanna on 09-30-24
By: Jason Stanley
-
Soul Boom
- Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution
- By: Rainn Wilson
- Narrated by: Rainn Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The trauma that our world experienced in recent years—as result of both the pandemic and societal tensions that threaten to overwhelm us—has been unprecedented and is not going away anytime soon. It is clear that existing political and economic systems are not enough to bring the change that the world needs. In this book, Rainn Wilson explores the possibility and hope for a spiritual revolution, a “Soul Boom” in order to address today’s greatest issues—mental health, racism and sexism, climate change, and economic injustice.
-
-
Political posturing
- By patti luke on 05-03-23
By: Rainn Wilson
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Last Human Job
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Squeak
- 04-06-25
Sounds like she’s reading into a coffee can
Great content. The author’s reading is fine too. But the canned audio is highly distracting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ezra Schwartz
- 01-15-25
A profound book
I feel this will be one of the most profound and highly relevant books I've read, I highly recommend you give it a listen.
From the introduction...
"I ended up coining the phrase “connective labor” to refer to that work that involves forging an emotional understanding with another person to create the outcomes we think are important. ...I could also see that it was increasingly being subjected to new systems of data analytics, apps, and artificial intelligence that tried to make it more predictable, measurable, efficient—and reproducible.
Increasingly, we were treating this work to the same sort of industrial logic that one might see on an assembly line. And while some celebrate these trends and others critique them, most are still talking about the benefits and costs as if they accrue to individuals... Yet the social dimensions of these interactions—the collaborative magic they create that lies between people, securing us in relationship to others around us—are not entirely reducible to the individuals involved."
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!