Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-wage Britain

Front Cover
Atlantic Books, 2019 - Business & Economics - 284 pages
We all define ourselves by our profession - at least to some extent. But what if our job was demeaning, poorly paid, and tedious? Cracking open Britain's divisions - immigrant/British, North/South, urban/rural, working class/middle class, leave/remain - journalist James Bloodworth spends six months living and working across Britain, taking on the country's worst jobs. He lives on the meagre proceeds and discovers the anxieties and hopes of those he encounters, including working-class British, young students striving to make ends meet, and Eastern European immigrants. Reminiscent of Orwell's Road to Wigan Pier, this is a fascinating window onto a world that Britain's London-centric media rarely visits. From the Staffordshire Amazon warehouse to the taxi-cabs of Uber, Bloodworth uncovers horrifying employment practices and shows how traditional working-class communities have been decimated by the move to soulless service jobs with no security, advancement or satisfaction. But this is more than an expose of unscrupulous employers; this is a gripping examination of post-Brexit Britain, a divided nation which needs to understand the true reality of how other people live and work, before it can heal.

Other editions - View all

About the author (2019)

James Bloodworth i s the former editor of Left Foot Forward, one of the most influential left-wing websites in the UK. He is a fortnightly columnist for the International Business Times and regularly contributes to the Independent, Guardian, New Statesman, and Wall Street Journal. He has 15,000 followers on Twitter.