We're back with another WORKTECH Events special, this time previewing not one, but two brilliant upcoming October 2025 conferences: WORKTECH25 New York and San Francisco.

✨Workplace Geeks listeners - save 20% off tickets to both events using code GEEKS2025 at checkout! 🎟️

WORKTECH Events bring together the brightest minds in work, workplace, technology and innovation across a global calendar, and we’ve got a sneak peek at some of the most thought-provoking sessions coming your way, with three conversations with featured speakers from both events:

Co-founder of Future Forum, and Work Forward CEO Brian Elliott explores the data behind the Flex Index, the world’s most comprehensive look at how companies are actually implementing flexible work. With a clear-headed, evidence-based take, Brian reveals why the most extreme models - whether fully remote or fully office-bound - are the hardest to implement succesfully, and what well-considered hybrid can look like in practice.

Prof. Gail Brager from UC Berkeley discusses her new book Experiential Design Schemas, co-authored with architect Prof. Mark DeKay. Together, they propose a 'design-strategic approach' to help workplaces move from generic experience toward delight, positivity and sensory richness.

Geniant's CXO for Space, and returning WORKTECH favourite, architect David Dewane shares the latest evolution in his three-part series on workplace transformation. In this instalment, he explores the potential of measuring individual human flourishing — and how doing so could radically shift how we define, design and deliver workplace experience at team and organisational level.

The Workplace Geeks - always caring about your workplace education... 🧠

🎧 Dialogue editing by David Crackles

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Following a cracking chat with MillerKnoll's Ryan Anderson in the last episode, this time the Geeks sit down with Mark Catchlove, genuine workplace gentleman and Director of Insight at MillerKnoll, for a fascinating dive into the work and legacy of Robert Propst — Herman Miller’s pioneering Director of Research during the 1960s.

Design polymath Propst’s seminal 1968 book, The office: A facility based on change, was ahead of its time. Designed as a field manual for workplace change, it tackled everything from change, human-centered design, visual display, privacy and involvement, conversation and interaction, health and movement, the role of technology, and leadership culture. And all in a surprisingly slim volume.

In this educational chat Chris, Ian and Mark explore:

• How Propst became Director of Research for Herman Miller
• Mark's involvement in bringing Propst's legacy back to life
• Why The Office is still essential reading for anyone shaping workplace experience
• What today’s workplace strategists can learn from Propst’s provocations
• What a gorilla has to do with expression and personalisation
• Whether it's fair to call Propst 'the inventor of the cubicle' or not...

And to top it off, Dr Dan Wakelin from Isovist is back with Ian on reflection section duties. Yay!

Want to read it for yourself? The office isn't available digitally, and physical copies are increasingly hard to find. Good job that we have three free copies available for you lucky listeners, courtesy of MillerKnoll.

YES! What do I have to do to get one? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Go to the Workplace Geeks page on the iPhone or the desktop app, then scroll down to rate AND review the show. Lemon squeezy.

Winners will be selected and announced in a future episode.

🎧 Dialogue editing by David Crackles

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Four episodes in and the Geeks are cooking on gas! For this one, we're joined by the wise and insanely amiable Ryan Anderson, VP of Global Research and Planning at workplace furniture giant MillerKnoll, home of Herman Miller, Knoll, and a host of other iconic design brands.

Ryan has lived and breathed workplace for over three decades in a wide range of roles. It's no surprise then that his thoughtful, considered perspectives on workplace design, strategy, experience and technology step beyond conventional wisdoms and overtraded ideas. We caught up with Ryan to talk furniture, industry research, post-pandemic strategies and how MillerKnoll's new concept of Relationship-Based Work developed after some recent research with Workplace Unlimited (and Audiem!) called Enticing Office. Highlights include:

• The Grand Rapids, Michigan furniture legacy and how it shaped Ryan’s career
• What the sector got wrong pre-pandemic, and how to do better now
• The problem with trying to solve complex workplace challenges with cookie-cutter solutions
• Key insights from Dr Nigel Oseland and Gary Raw’s Enticing Office research
• The importance of place-attachment for the 'return to office'
• Why 'life stage' and 'career stage' might be better thinking tools than generic generational classifiers
• Designing for meaningful human interaction, not just work activities

Also featuring a rich Reflection Section with the always-fabulous Esme Banks Marr (BVN Architecture) exploring age demographics, the sociology of workplace interaction and motivation theories, with a healthy level of constructive critique!

🎧 Dialogue editing by David Crackles

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Three episodes into season four and we're deep into important territory. In this episode the Geeks sit down with internationally renowned designer, researcher, and workplace changemaker Kay Sargent, director of thought leadership and interiors at global architecture firm HOK.

Kay has spent the past eight years co-ordinating a major research initiative, culminating in a brand new book, Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Advancing Sensory Processing and Cognitive Well-Being in the Built Environment. What began as a curiosity-led research project has turned into a transformative design movement grounded in neuroscience, empathy, and research evidence.

We caught up with Kay in person at HOK’s London office to explore her story, the book, and what it means to design workplaces that work for the full spectrum of human neurodiversity. In this fun and thought-provoking conversation, we learn:

• How one client question triggered eight years of global research and co-creation
• Why it’s time to stop designing for 'the average', because no one is average
• What hyper- and hypo-sensory experiences mean for workplace design
• How sensory gradients, zoning and choice can help people feel in control
• Why this issue must transcend competitive advantage

Featuring a reflection section with returning guest Josh Artus from Centric Lab, connecting Kay’s insights to brain science, lived experience and the real-world barriers to inclusive change:

"Kay's work, alongside our BCO report, show why employers and managers, alongside designers, developers, and landlords, need to come to terms with the lived experience of neurodivergent people and urban corporate work life. Understanding this will yield an intelligent and measured approach to a complex situation. And when you really understand the problem, the solution can be very straightforward"

🎙️Dialogue editing by David Crackles

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

We've only just got cracking with season 4, and we’re already taking an unusual turn. In this episode, the Geeks enjoy their first ever workplace poety takeover with the brilliant, wise and genuinely witty author and poet Matt Harvey, self-proclaimed enemy of all that's upsetting.

From the psychological contracts of workplace perks, to the creeping control of mobile devices, and watercooler encounters with hidden meaning, Matt has been making sense of work through verse for years — including a long-standing collaboration with Worktech as their poet in residence.

We invited him on to the show share some of his workplace-themed poems, then discuss what they reveal about work, culture and human nature.

In this poetry-infused conversation, we explore:

• Matt’s journey from The Guardian’s Saturday work section to Worktech’s main stage
• How poetry can reveal overlooked truths about the day-to-day experience of work
• A cheeky take on workplace ‘perks’ and our invisible psychological contracts
• A poetic time capsule of the Blackberry era — and how tech took over our lives
• A melancholy meditation on watercooler connections and relationships real and imagined
• Why AI-generated poems still don’t beat the real thing — yet
• A reprise of “The world of work, 20 years on” — commissioned for Worktech

No reflection section this time — instead, we reflect as we go, with plenty of chuckles and a little poetic mischief along the way.

📖 Featuring live readings of four original Matt Harvey poems: Works perks, Not tonight dear, I have a Blackberry, Water-cooler moments and The world of work: 20 years on.

🔎 There are some great videos of Matt on YouTube, and some of our favourite books are:

• 🐌 Where Earwigs Dare (includes the first three poems read here)
• ⛈️ The Element in the Room
• 😕 The Hole in the Sum of My Parts
• 🧠 Mindless Body, Spineless Mind
• 🥫 Shopping with Dad (the best young children's story by far!🥇)

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

The Workplace Geeks are back, and we're kicking off Series 4 with two heavyweights of the workplace world: Jeremy Myerson and Philip Ross, co-authors of Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office – their fourth collaboration, and their most provocative yet.

From their first book, The Creative Office, to the now globally established Worktech Academy and Events community, Jeremy and Philip have influenced workplace thinking for decades. Now, they're reflecting on a century of office orthodoxy — and calling for a complete reinvention.

In a rich, thoughtful conversation, we explore:

• How Unworking evolved from coffee table editions to a future workplace manifesto
• The office’s 100-year legacy – and why Taylorism still haunts us
• Why it’s time to stop iterating and start reimagining work from first principles
• Ten bold directions for the future of workplace: social, healthy, sentient, purposeful, elastic, personalised, contextualised, digital, consumerised, and shared
• Global case studies, design critiques, and the challenges of city-centre real estate
• Why AI is the workplace disruptor they wish they’d written more about
• How to navigate polarising narratives, including resolute returners, choice champions and beyond

Also featuring a reflection section recorded live at The Workplace Event, NEC Birmingham, from Worktech Academy's Kasia Maynard. Jazz hands optional! 🤗

Learn more about Unworking at Worktech Academy or grab a copy wherever you buy your workplace reads - highly recommended.

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

In our very first Workplace Geeks investigation™️ deep dive, Ian sets out to explore a question that's been on his mind:

🔎 Is biophilic design just good design — or something we need to intentionally spotlight because of its unique importance?

To find out, he heads to the UK’s first ever Biophilic Design Conference, held at the iconic Barbican in London — a venue that raises some interesting design questions of its own. Along the way Ian hears from a host of experts to unpack theory, challenge assumptions, and spotlight the real-world impacts of designing with our 'natural affinity for nature' in mind.

🧠 Understanding the science behind biophilic design

We learn about the roots of biophilia and the principles of biophilic design through the lenses of evolutionary and environmental psychology, with insights from Dr Nigel Oseland, Dr Sally Augustin and Oliver Heath.

🌿 Inside the UK’s first Biophilic Design Conference

We hear how the event came together, why it matters, and what made the Barbican the perfect venue — through conversations with Dr Vanessa Champion, Prof Harriet Shortt and Mark Catchlove.

🎋 Biophilic design in practice: case studies

We dive into real-world applications of biophilic design, from city clinics to jungle retreats, including a deep exploration of the Barbican itself as a space where brutalism meets biophilia. With contributions from Matthew Burgess, Chloe Bullock, Oliver Heath and Prof Geoff Proffitt.

🤔 Thoughts?

Is biophilic design just a feel-good trend, or something much deeper and more urgent? Join the debate on LinkedIn or email us at hello@workplacegeeks.org

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

The Workplace Event's Workplace Leaders Top 50 awards are in their second year, and the Geeks were honoured to be invited to speak to the winners. Each of these special episodes usually features small but perfectly formed chats with three winners... but this time we've gone one better!

We thought we'd drop a fifth episode to entertain, inspire and illuminate during the cold dingy UK winter, featuring conversations with Bertie van Wyk (MillerKnoll), Kasia Maynard (Worktech Academy), Paul Urmston (NatWest) and a fourth guest who needs no introduction whatsoever on this show... 😉

We asked each winner the same questions to learn about their career, how they got into the workpace sector, how it's changed, what it could do better, and what advice they have for folks coming in. These are human stories, personal anecdotes and revealing conversations into what these workplace leaders are thinking.

Learn more 🌱🧠

• The Workplace Leaders Top 50
• MillerKnoll
• Worktech Academy
• NatWest
• Audiem UNITE webinar featuring Paul Urmston
• Audiem & NatWest's award-winning workplace experience work

☎️ Leave us a voicemail on the Workplace Geeks hotline — we might feature you on a future episode!

📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for more Geeky goodness

📅 Join our upcoming Audiem webinars (and catch up on-demand)

🌟 Like what you hear? Leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts — and don’t forget to recommend us to your workplace pals!

💬 Got ideas, feedback, or guest suggestions?

• Connect with Chris and Ian on LinkedIn
• Share your thoughts using #WorkplaceGeeks
• Follow @WorkplaceGeeks on your platform of choice
• Or email us directly at hello@workplacegeeks.org

Workplace Geeks is sponsored by 2468 Group ☕️

Brought to you by Audiem ⚡️— powering smarter workplace decisions with AI-driven insights 👉🏼 Want to know how? Just get in touch 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼