Adapting offices for the future of work

Insights

Digital innovation

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 Emma Gritt (Leeds University Business School) is joined by Babak Tizkar (Head of Building Information Modelling at Atkins) to talk about the role of technology in supporting hybrid working. Babak shares insights from Atkins on the approach the company has taken towards hybrid working during lockdown and as we’re coming out of the 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 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.   

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 advance technologies.

Utilising technology to support hybrid working

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

In this episode, Addi Manolopoulou speaks to Dr Costas Lambrinoudakis and Elliot (Zhengfa) Zhang about their recent paper – The Impact of Social Media Influencers on the Financial Market Performance of Firms. They discuss high-profile cases, including Rihanna and Kylie Jenner, and examine whether other social media stars have the power to influence stock prices.  

This episode was recorded on 25th March 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.  

Read the journal article: "The impact of social media influencers on the financial market performance of firms", European Financial Management. Kevin Keasey, Costas Lambrinoudakis, Danilo V. Mascia, Zhengfa Zhang. 

About the speakers: 

Addi Manolopoulou is the Departmental Manager for the Accounting and Finance Department at Leeds University Business School. She is committed to translating complex research into real-world impact.   

Costas Lambrinoudakis is Assistant Professor of Finance at Leeds University Business School. His research interests lie in corporate finance, financial markets, social networks, and big data. 

Zhengfa (Elliot) Zhang is a postgraduate researcher in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance. His main research areas are financial markets, textual analysis, LLMs, behavioural finance, and empirical asset pricing.

How social media influencers can affect the stock market

Drs Lauren Machon and Helen Hughes talk about the behaviour lab at Leeds University Business School, and how it can help organisations solve real-world challenges. In this episode, they discuss how the Behaviour Lab can be used by companies to test consumer reactions, optimise workplace design, and refine communication strategies using eye-tracking, virtual reality, and other state-of-the-art tools.  

This episode was recorded on 31st March 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact LUBSBehaviourLab@leeds.ac.uk A transcript of this episode is available.  

Visit the Behaviour Lab webpage (https://business.leeds.ac.uk/about-us/doc/behaviour-lab) for equipment details and further information. 

About the speakers: Dr Lauren Machon is the Behaviour Lab Manager. Her research interests lie in innovation adoption and technology acceptance. Dr Helen Hughes is the Behaviour Lab Director and is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on the social dynamics of workplace relationships, as well as graduate employability and early career transitions to the workplace.

Unlocking behavioural insights: how businesses can benefit from the Behaviour Lab

After delivering insightful presentations at the Legal Tech in Leeds 2025 conference, Dr Virág Blazsek and Professor Danat Valizade have come together on our podcast to share some of the key themes they discussed at the event. In this episode, they talk about how legal tech growth is shaped by two main areas - workforce change and energy policy. 

This episode was recorded on 24th June 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.  

About the speakers:  

Dr Virág Blazsek is a Lecturer in Commercial, Corporate, and Banking Law and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Law and Practice (CBLP) at the University of Leeds School of Law. Her recent research, supported by the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship, examines FinTech hub development and financial sector transformation in secondary financial centres, focusing on Leeds, the US, and Singapore. The project highlighted the vital role of regional legal and tech clusters - like Leeds - in strengthening the UK’s LegalTech sector, largely due to their strong underlying real economies. 

Danat Valizade is Professor of Quantitative Employment Research at Leeds University Business School. His research focuses on labour market inequalities and the future of work; job quality; advanced econometrics, and machine learning. 

The two forces driving legal tech growth: people and power

In this introductory episode, Professor Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay explain the purpose of the Surgical Care Observatory and why successful surgical innovation is about far more than the tech itself. They discuss system readiness, and how sociotechnical frameworks can help the NHS implement new technologies safely, effectively, and sustainably.

This episode was recorded on 24th November 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/383/podcast-transcript---introducing-the-surgical-care-observatory

Visit the project webpage: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/2425/surgical-care-observatory-healthtech-research-centre-in-accelerated-surgical-care

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

About the speakers: Dr Helen Hughes is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and Director of the Behaviour Lab. Helen in an interdisciplinary researcher, whose research spans aerospace to healthcare sectors.  Helen is currently an Associate Editor at Ergonomics journal, and a Co-Investigator within the NIHR-funded Surgical Health-Tech Research Centre, where she leads the ‘Surgical Observatory’ workstream. 

Emma Findlay is a Research Officer at Leeds University Business School, working in the Surgical Care Observatory theme of the HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care.  Her research explores the underpinning psychology of complex systems; including medtech implementation, surgical sustainability and multiteam system functioning. 

Articles mentioned in this episode and related reading:

“Organisational psychologists – essential to saving the NHS”, The Psychologist, 31 October 2025, Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay  
“The Principles of Sociotechnical Design”, Human Relations, Albert Cherns, 1976  
“Sociotechnical principles for system design”, Applied Ergonomics, Chris Clegg, 2000
“Leveraging socio-technical systems to tackle grand challenges: Reflections on human-robot teams, hybrid workplaces, med-tech, and digital transformation”, Ergonomics, Matthew Davis, Helen Hughes, Mark Robinson, Jeffery Scales, Shankar Sankaran, Dikai Liu, Emma Findlay and Emma Gritt, 2025

Introducing the Surgical Care Observatory – why sociotechnical thinking is needed within the NHS

In this episode of the Research and Innovation Podcast, Rashik Parmar MBE, and Professor Mehmet Dogar explore advances in artificial intelligence, responsible computing, and robotics. They discuss why responsible computing is becoming urgent, the challenges of making digital systems ethical and sustainable, and the ambition to position the UK as a world-leader in this space. Mehmet shares insights from the University of Leeds Robotics Lab, including why robotics lags behind other areas of AI and how researchers are tackling complex tasks like multi-object packing and physical interaction. Together, they look ahead to what responsible, trustworthy computing and more capable robots could mean for society in the coming years. 

Both Rashik and Mehmet presented on these topics at the Leeds Digital Festival event - “The future is now: tech driving UK industry” - which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the School of Computer Science.  

Mehmet’s research is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/V052659/1] 

This episode was recorded on 8 December 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. 

About the speakers: 

Rashik Parmar MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Previously, Rashik was Group CEO of British Computer Society (BCS), and the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Open University Council and also chairs Industry Advisory Board for Digit Lab. 

Professor Mehmet Dogar is Professor of Robotics & AI at the University of Leeds. His research focuses on autonomous robotic manipulation. Mehmet is an EPSRC Fellow, and an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Robotics Research, and an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Towards a world of ethical computing and smarter robots

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.