Adapting offices for the future of work

Insights

The workplace

Dr Matthew Davis and Dr Helen Hughes, Associate Professors at Leeds University Business School, talk about what office space might be like post-pandemic, asking questions such as whether the office is dead, how different sectors will respond, and whether employers will use this as an opportunity to re-think what office space should be for. 

This project - Adapting offices to support COVID-19 secure workplaces and emerging work patterns - is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. Visit the webpage www.bitly.com/adaptingoffices 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available at: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/225/podcast_-_episode_22_transcript

What will the office look like post-pandemic?

Hannah Collis and Dr Matthew Davis discuss how organisations can make the most of the disruption caused by the pandemic, and the need for employers to continually check-in with employees on their return to the office. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in June 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available at:  https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/236/podcast_episode_30_-_transcript

 
About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 
Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance.

Preparing for a change of mindset as well as a change of office space

Is air conditioning enough to ventilate a room? And is an open window better than an electric fan? In this episode of Leeds University Business School’s Research and Innovation Podcast, Dr Matthew Davis is joined by Professor Cath Noakes and Professor Simon Rees to discuss the importance of good ventilation in buildings, particularly as people begin to return to the office after lockdown. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/237/podcast_episode_31_-_transcript

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR.  
Cath Noakes is Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds and is on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee. Her research expertise is in building physics and environmental engineering and she leads research into ventilation, indoor air quality and infection control in the built environment. 
Simon Rees is Professor of Building Energy Systems at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of Building Engineering Physics and geothermal heating and cooling systems. These interests can be summarised as sustainable building design, energy simulation and dynamic thermal modelling methods, room heat transfer, thermal networks and geothermal systems.

The importance of good ventilation

Hannah Collis is joined by Antony Hylton to discuss how to create an ergonomic workspace for those returning to the office after the Covid19 pandemic. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in August 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:  

Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance. 

Antony Hylton is Ergonomics Director at Zoinomics. Antony is a Chartered Physiotherapist of 20 years and has worked in a variety of settings, treating necks, backs and various other physical ailments. He also has almost 10 years of experience working in the field of office ergonomics and has a wide knowledge base as it relates to the conditions that afflict those that are mostly desk-based in their jobs and the products and furniture that can help improve comfort and reduce risk of injury.

Creating an ergonomic workspace for those returning to the office

Dr Matthew Davis and Hannah Collis discuss their recent survey results, showing where office-workers want to work, and how they want to use different workspaces. Matthew and Hannah talk about the need for a whole-system approach when creating a flexible and adaptable office space. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: 

Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance.

What do workers want, and need, from an office space?

Dr Matthew Davis (Leeds University Business School) is joined by Professor Simon Rees (School of Civil Engineering) and Duncan Hurd (Avnet) to discuss how Avnet has adapted its Premier Farnell office and distribution facilities in Leeds during the pandemic and in response to new ways of working. As an international organisation, Duncan talks about the need to consider different cultural requirements as well as the requirements of functional teams and the preferences of employees when adapting office spaces. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in February 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Simon Rees is Professor of Building Energy Systems at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of Building Engineering Physics and geothermal heating and cooling systems. These interests can be summarised as sustainable building design, energy simulation and dynamic thermal modelling methods, room heat transfer, thermal networks and geothermal systems. 

Duncan Hurd is Senior Director, Global Real Estate & Indirect Procurement at Avnet. He has over 20 years’ experience working in large, complex, blue-chip organizations in public and private sectors across Procurement, Supply Chain and Property sectors. Avnet is a global leader of electronic components and services, guiding makers and manufacturers from design to delivery.

Adapting offices for the future of work: A case study with Avnet

Dr Emma Gritt (Leeds University Business School) welcomes back Babak Tizkar (Head of Building Information Modelling at Atkins) to discuss how to make hybrid meetings more effective. They talk about how to: encourage engagement, ensure that the right tools are used, and provide appropriate training. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.  A transcript of this episode is available.   

Read the report: "Where is your office today?" https://futureworkplace.leeds.ac.uk/ao_report_052022/

About the speakers: 

Dr Emma Gritt is a lecturer in Information Management, and Programme Director for the Undergraduate Business Management programmes. Her research interests focus on the role of digital technologies in organisations. 

Babak Tizkar works for Atkins as Head of BIM across their multi-disciplinary Building Design practice. He leads a dedicated BIM team whose mission it is to develop and deploy existing and emerging digital strategies and technologies to enhance the design development and delivery process, streamline production workflows and guide project teams to adapt and deliver more efficient and better-quality building projects using advanced technologies.

How to make hybrid meetings effective

Dr Matthew Davis and Dr Helen Hughes, Associate Professors at Leeds University Business School, talk about what social networks at work are, and why they matter. They discuss how office space affects networks, if there's an optimum number of days to be in the office to make your networks effective, and offer some top tips for employers. 

For further information: 

Read the report. https://futureworkplace.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2022/10/Where-is-your-office-today-Oct-2022-2.pdf 
 
Visit the website. https://futureworkplace.leeds.ac.uk/ 

Listen to the podcast series. https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/sets/adapting-offices-for-the?si=d22e4abb276a404da069aadc6cc20920&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing  

 
This project - Adapting offices to support COVID-19 secure workplaces and emerging work patterns - is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. Visit the webpage www.bitly.com/adaptingoffices 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available at: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/285/episode_56_transcript_-_episode_56_%E2%80%93_what_are_work_social_networks

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, office design, hybrid working and future workplaces. He also researches how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Dr Helen Hughes is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. She specialises in the social dynamics of workplace relationships, as well as graduate employability and early career transitions to the workplace. She is passionate about translating high-quality research into usable insights and strategies, working with partners such as Rolls-Royce, The National Health Service and KPMG.

What are work social networks and how do they relate to hybrid working?

Dr James Brooks is joined by his colleagues, Professor Irena Grugulis and Dr Hugh Cook, once again, to discuss the importance of unlearning in the workplace. Using their research with the UK Fire and Rescue Service to give examples, they talk about the need to unlearn outdated practices and knowledge in order to become more efficient organisations and employees. 

Read the paper: "Unlearning and consent in the UK Fire and Rescue Service", Human Relations, volume 75, issue 12; James Brooks, Irena Grugulis and Hugh Cook. 

This builds on Dr Brooks, Professor Grugulis and Dr Cook’s previous research on rethinking situated learning and communities of practice. You can listen to their previous podcast episode on this topic here. 

About the speakers: Professor Irena Grugulis is Professor of Work and Skills at Leeds University Business School. Her main area of research interest is learning and skills, how employees gain the skills that they have and the various workplace systems and structures that limit or encourage this. 

Dr Hugh Cook is Associate Professor in Employment Relations and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically the implementation of strategic HRM and training systems and their effect on employee-related outcomes. 

Dr James Brooks is a Lecturer in Management Consulting and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically how employees share knowledge and skills and also the control, management and regulation of emotions at work.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

The importance of unlearning

Dr Matthew Davis speaks to Afshan Iqbal about Afshan’s research on technostress and the impact it has on remote and hybrid workers. They discuss what technostress is, the effect it can have on workflow and on work-family conflict, and coping mechanisms for how to deal with it. 

A summary of Afshan’s research on technostress is available here. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/309/the_impact_of_technostress_on_remote_workers

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this research, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research focuses on how people interact with their environments, office design, hybrid working and future workplaces. He also researches how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Afshan Iqbal is a Research Fellow in Organisational Behaviour and Socio-Technical Systems, with a keen interest in virtual working, hybrid work, the future workplace and the use of technologies in new ways of working. Her doctoral research focused on the antecedents to technostress in remote workers and the impact this had on work-family conflict, performance and job satisfaction when boundaries between work and professional lives are increasingly blurred.

The impact of technostress on remote workers

Dr Jack Daly speaks to Dr Lilith Brouwers about their recent report on sex workers’ experiences of management and other third parties. Lilith gives an overview of the legal status of sex work and third parties in England, which third parties exist in sex work, why sex workers choose to work with or without third parties, and what kind of changes sex workers want to improve their relationships with those third parties. 

Visit the project webpage to read the report discussed in this episode.  https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-projects/2151/sex-workers-experiences-of-management-and-other-third-parties

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Lilith Brouwers is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC). Their research focuses on marginalised workers in informal labour, how hyper-precarious workers use labour mobility, and on the intersection of disability and marginalised forms of work.   

Dr Jack Daly is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CERIC. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in traditionally male-dominated industries, with a specific interest in the role of men as resistance to and facilitators of inclusive working practices.

Sex workers’ experiences of management and other third parties

Dr Olga Ustyuzhantseva speaks to Mattia Dessì about Russia’s energy situation and the state's views on it; the ecological impact of coal in Russia; and the role of the labour movement in Russia's coal industry. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/1990/just-transition-action-concepts-debates-and-strategies-an-international-comparison-across-11-countries

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/294/podcast-just-transitions---a-global-exploration
 
About the speakers: Mattia Dessì is a Postgraduate Researcher at Leeds University Business School. His PhD research focuses on new technologies and the future of work in the South African mining industry. 

Dr Olga Ustyuzhantseva is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Her recent research focus is on the sociotechnical transition to the sustainable development of coal-mining countries (South Africa and Russia), particularly climate, energy, and just transition policies and their impact on the coal phase-out trajectory.

Just Transitions – a global exploration: Russia

Drs Gabriella Alberti and Jo Cutter are joined by Caroline Keohane and Tanya Barringer from the Food and Drink Federation to discuss how the workforce in the UK food and drink sector has been affected since the end of the free movement of labour from the EU, and other subsequent crises. 

This episode has been recorded as part of the Labour Mobility in Transition (LIMITS) project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Visit the project webpage (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/1870/labour-mobility-in-transition-a-multi-actor-study-of-the-re-regulation-of-migrant-work-in-low-skilled-sectors-limits).

You can read the manifesto discussed in the episode here (https://www.fdf.org.uk/globalassets/about-fdf/powers-our-nation/fdf-2024-manifesto.pdf), and the LIMITS project Employer Survey report here (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/332/employers-post-brexit-workforce-strategies-and-their-use-of-migrant-workers). 

This episode was recorded on 11 June 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/333/podcast-transcript---labour-shortages

About the speakers: 

Dr Gabriella Alberti is an Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests revolve around the conditions of workers at the bottom end of the labour market, whether on non-standard contracts, engaged in gig/platform work, excluded from social protections, migrants and minorities workers facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and exclusion. 

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research focuses on employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills formation and training. She is currently researching these themes in relation to two contexts: workers and the just transition and labour mobility. 

Caroline Keohane is Head of Industry Growth at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) which is the voice of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. Caroline leads FDF’s policy work on growth, productivity and investment and works closely with senior government officials within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). She is also a Non-Executive Board member of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink. 

Tanya Barringer is a Senior Industry Growth Policy Executive at the Food and Drink Federation.  Her areas of focus include skills (apprenticeships and skill shortages), employment and migration, the uptake of automation and digitalisation and supply chain fairness.

Labour shortages, automation, and upskilling in UK food and drink manufacturing

Professor Aristeidis Theotokis speaks to special guest, Rashik Parmar MBE, about AI and the implications it could have on both business and society as a whole. In the episode, they discuss AI’s potential and limitations; people’s perceptions of AI; who the winners and losers are when it comes to creating value from AI; and what the biggest risks are when it comes to AI. 

Both Aristeidis and Rashik presented at Leeds University Business School’s “The Business of AI” event as part of Leeds Digital Festival in September. 

The HBR article Rashik referenced in this episode is “What is responsible computing?” 

This episode was recorded on 11th October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Aristeidis Theotokis is Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. He conducts research in the areas of shopper psychology, retail technology and prosocial behavior. He examines theories and phenomena in the areas of consumer psychology, behavioural economics and social psychology. His current research includes exploring how consumers understand and interact with AI. 

Rashik Parmar, MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Rashik is Group CEO of British Computer Society (BCS) where he is responsible for realising the BCS mission to make IT good for society. He is focused on inspiring the programmes that the BCS colleagues, members and partners that help us deliver the BCS strategy. Previously he was the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Council and also chairs the Employment and Skills Panel at the Leeds City Region LEP and the Board of Trustees for We are IVE.

The limitations and potential of AI - and the role humans have to play in its success

Dr Ziko Konwar is joined by Dr Christopher Hassall and Professor Ulf Andersson to discuss the intricate linkages between biodiversity and business strategies, with an emphasis on operations of multinational enterprises. As part of the conversation, they explore questions such as how can businesses co-create value when it comes to preserving biological resources and mitigating the pace of biodiversity loss. And what are some of the major challenges for multinational companies integrating nature-based solutions into their business models? 

This episode was recorded on 3rd October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Ziko Konwar is an Assistant Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Director of Internationalization for the International Business Department. His research interests are in global strategy of multinational enterprises, with an emphasis on cross-national institutional and systemic challenges. He is the Leeds University Business School Research Lead for the 24-26 Cheney Fellowship project (see below), University of Leeds.   

Dr Christopher Hassall is an Associate Professor of Animal Biology in the School of Biology at the University of Leeds. He co-directs the Leverhulme Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Programme and co-leads the Aeroecology Research Group, which focuses on using radar for biodiversity monitoring. His research interests span fundamental ecology and biodiversity conservation, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary solutions to biodiversity challenges. 

Professor Ulf Andersson is a Professor of Business Studies in Mälardalen University, Sweden. Ulf is a research leader and expert on subsidiary management strategy of multinational enterprises, and is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business and European International Business Academy. Ulf is the first Cheney Fellow to be hosted at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds. 

About the project:

The Cheney fellowship project will utilize inter-disciplinary research expertise to address the role of global strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in biodiversity loss (e.g. species/habitat extinction and MNE global innovation). The research team comprises Professor Ulf Andersson (incoming Cheney Fellow), Dr Ziko Konwar, Professor Yingqi (Annie) Wei and Professor Frank McDonald (Leeds University Business School), Dr Christopher Hassall (Faculty of Biological Sciences,) and Professor George Holmes (School of Earth and Environment). Over the past ten years, the Cheney Fellowship programme has established fruitful and high-impact research partnerships in areas such as water security, molecular biology, medicine and materials science. This programme has been made possible through a $4 million gift from Bacteriology and Biochemistry graduate Peter Cheney and his wife Susan.   

All quiet on the biodiversity strategy front: multinational enterprises, value creation and sustainable ecosystems

David Loseby, Visiting Professor of Research Impact at Leeds University Business School, interviews Frank Lee, Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Collaborative Working, asking what makes a great partner, and how value can be created through collaboration. 

Both David and Frank spoke at the “Ideas in Practice: Supply Chain Summit 2024”, which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the Institute for Collaborative Working. The event, held in November 2024, explored how managing complex supply chains is increasingly vital to all organisations. 

Additional note: In the episode, David and Frank mention ISO 44000 and ISO 44001. These are standards created by the International Organization for Standardization, that provide frameworks for successful collaborative business relationship management. 

This episode was recorded on 3rd February 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/354/podcast-transcript---collaboration-done-right)

About the speakers: 

David Loseby is Professor of Research Impact in Supply Chain Management at Leeds University Business School. He is a modern day “pracademic” that has spent over three decades in procurement and supply chain roles internationally across a diverse set of sectors from pharmaceuticals, banking, retail, manufacturing, and public sector (NHS and Westminster City Council) and more recently as the Group CPO for Rolls Royce. He is also a visiting scholar at the University of East Anglia involved in Executive MBA and MSc programmes, as well as his own active research portfolio in Behavioural Science.  

Frank Lee is the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW), a role he has held since early 2023. He joined ICW after more than 30 years with the British Standards Institution (BSI), where he held various leadership roles. Frank has been instrumental in establishing a new vision and purpose for ICW, transforming it into a modern, agile, and outward-focused institution. 

Collaborative working

Leeds University Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast brings you insights from our expert researchers. From the future of work, to disruptive technologies; green behaviours to emerging markets, we’ll be covering a wide-range of topical issues and novel ideas. 

Listen to the podcast to find out more about our research and how it’s inspiring business managers, informing policymakers and influencing society.

If you have any comments regarding any of these episodes, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.