Dispatches from the Cube Farm |

I'm going to miss Michael Scott who recently resigned from television's The Office. A nightmare of a manager, he hindered his employees with pointless meetings, baffling initiatives and poor decisions. It was only through sheer determination that any actual work was completed under his supervision. While it would be infuriating to work at Dunder Mifflin, it has been entertaining to watch.

Similarly, fiction about dysfunctional workplaces can ease some of our own employment frustrations.

These are some of my favourite work-related novels.

The Ax by Donald Westlake
When a mild-mannered executive is laid off, he decides to maximize his chances for employment by killing the competition–literally.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Although it is set in the US military in World War II, anyone who has ever held a job can relate to this classic tale of absurdity.
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Company by Max Barry
A newly hired employee becomes suspicious when he discovers that none of his co-workers know what it is that their company really does. This is my absolute favourite office novel and it's a perfect read for anyone who has wondered why it is so hard to anything done at work.

Fat Bald Jeff by Leslie Stella
A overworked copy editor joins forces with a frustrated computer technician to sabotage their workplace.

The Pale King: an Unfinished Novel by David Foster Wallace
In his final novel, Wallace examines the banal world of IRS workers. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it's getting rave reviews.
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Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
The stresses of working in an advertising agency are complicated by boredom, death, and downsizing.