Bullshit Jobs and Bullshit Offices

David Graeber’s “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant” made a compelling argument: many modern jobs exist for no real reason. Bureaucratic middlemen, redundant administrators, corporate paper-pushers—roles that persist not because they add value, but because organizations (and the people in them) are too invested in keeping up appearances.

The beauty of a rant is that it doesn’t have to be balanced or meticulously proven. It’s meant to provoke, to challenge, to force people to question the status quo. And for me, the logical extension into real estate is obvious: bullshit jobs don’t just waste time—they take up space. Entire office buildings exist to house these roles, and much like the jobs themselves, many of these buildings shouldn’t be there anymore.

So allow me a follow-up rant: It’s not just the jobs. A lot of office buildings are bullshit, too. Wrong location, outdated design, too old, too dirty, too lifeless. They don’t make sense anymore—if they ever truly did. Many exist not because they add value but because, at some point, someone thought they were a good idea. They aren’t. They should go.

AI is about to accelerate this reckoning. It’s coming for the repetitive, process-driven, and symbolic work that props up modern bureaucracy. And as bullshit jobs disappear, what happens to the towers that housed them? Look around—many office properties are already obsolete. The pandemic made that brutally clear, leaving millions of square feet underutilized, unloved, and unnecessary. Hybrid work proved that people don’t need to commute to uninspiring desks in uninspiring buildings to do uninspiring work. And now, AI is further exposing just how much of corporate life is performative.

Buildings will have to earn their place. They must compete with the comfort, efficiency, and flexibility of working from home. Stale, soulless offices won’t cut it anymore—employees will demand better spaces, better locations, and better experiences.

The result? Office buildings will have to sweat—work harder, offer more, and become more flexible. The days of companies leasing vast amounts of space just because “that’s how it’s done” are over. The best buildings will evolve, offering smarter layouts, better amenities, and actual reasons for people to come in beyond just mandatory face time. But many won’t keep up. They’ll sit underutilized, waiting for a purpose they’ll never find.

AI isn’t just coming for bullshit jobs—it’s coming for bullshit offices, too. And only the best will survive.