Chris Heuer (above) has been asking this question in his salon: Is work broken? It's a good question and very current. The environment of work seems horrid in many organizations and the management unpleasant. 

Cooperation, teamwork, collaboration, and respect -- seem to be on a long list of virtues that are absent from many workplaces.  Can this be changed? Probably, but it might not be worth the effort.

I doubt changes can be made within established organizations, it's better if the die is cast from new, within a brand new enterprise. If better places can be built then, we should see that in a new generation of high performance workplaces arising and outpacing the older model. But what will that new model look like?

This upcoming conference caught my eye and might have some answers: (Via StoweBoyd.)

The Work Revolution Summit -- Co-Create The Future Of Work in New York City September 20-21.

We certainly need some big changes in the workplace. I read this description but I'm still not sure what it is:

The Work Revolution is a movement + campaign that advocates for human and meaningful work for all. We are the pioneers designing radically life-giving workplaces. Join us.

Also, it's not clear if the Work Revolution Summit is a deep dive into the subject and a debate on new directions, or a sales pitch.

Our objective is to provide startups and entrepreneurs with the tools they need to maintain an astonishingly "human" company culture that helps both the employees and the company reach their full potential as the organization grows and scales.

Either way, any way that fixes work is justified if we can produce better, and emotionally healthier workplaces. 

The Work Revolution movement has a manifesto, it's unassailable in its vision but could do without the chocolate: 

You are fearless. A force to be reckoned with. You are unafraid to challenge the status quo (in fact, you kind of enjoy it). You have a low tolerance for outdated workplace practices. You believe that work should be meaningful, and you strive to make it so -- not only for yourself, but for those around you. You find organizational innovations delicious, and devour helpful trends like some kind of delicious exotic chocolate.