The Nowhere Office

Julia Hobsbawm is joined by David Marks and Jason Blank, the co-founders of Brockton Everlast, the company behind Fora, the flexible workplace provider.  Recorded at Fora's building on Soho's Broadwick Street, they discuss how mixing “workboots and wingtips”, building expertise and business acumen, has shaped their approach to building a better future of work. They also explore property development, the ascendence of small businesses, and how smart, human-centred buildings are reshaping cities. The conversation also marks the launch of The Fora Institute of Work. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Links: Recorded at Soho Radio: https://sohoradiolondon.com/ Fora: https://www.foraspace.com/ ⁠Brockton Everlast: https://www.brocktoneverlast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Nowhere Office, hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern speak with journalist, author, and broadcaster Rachel Johnson for another addition of My Working Life in a conversation about her unconventional career journey Rachel shares how she broke into journalism as the Financial Times' first female trainee, the early mistakes she learned from, and how she built a career on her own terms.  She talks about the challenges of balancing working motherhood with her own ambitions, and why her time at the UK Foreign Office left her frustrated.  The episode also explores her latest project — the Tortoise investigative podcast Master — which looks into the allegations against author Neil Gaiman. Rachel explains what drove her to pursue this complex story and what the experience taught her about the power of persistence and purpose in working life. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How is AI transforming the workplace and what does it mean for employment law? In this episode of The Nowhere Office, host Julia Hobsbawm visits the Bankside offices of Lewis Silkin LLP to speak with James Davies, Senior Employment Partner, about the legal implications of artificial intelligence in hiring, AI regulation, and the future of legal work.  How is AI being used in recruitment and employment decisions?  What AI-specific tools like Harvey are changing legal practice?  How are governments and regulators addressing AI in employment law?  Will AI replace lawyers? As AI reshapes industries, HR professionals, employers, and legal experts need to stay ahead of evolving AI legislation and workplace trends. Tune in for an expert perspective on how AI is changing the legal landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of The Nowhere Office focuses on the United State of Work report, featuring an in-depth conversation with Brian Elliott, a contributor to the report and a leading voice in the future of work. Brian is the CEO of Work Forward, co-founder of Future Forum, and author of How the Future Works. With 25 years of experience at Google and Slack, he offers firsthand insights into corporate America's shifts and sheds light on: What's really driving return-to-office mandates The persistence of command-and-control management Corporate leadership's resistance to change The political context behind the DEI backlash stemming from the Trump administration You'll also hear insights from other United State of Work contributors, including: Peter Miscovich Floré Pradère Virginie Raphael Vicky Pryce Melissa Fisher Phil Kirschner Read the full United State of Work report at Workathon.io. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at Workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining Julia and Stefan is David Dewane, Chief Experience Officer of Physical Space at Geniant, a design services firm at the cutting edge of workplace transformation. David shares wide-ranging insights and anecdotes from his work—covering everything from the historical impact of air conditioning and the elevator to the role of human creativity in the age of AI. He also discusses the evolving discipline of architecture, how its definition is expanding, the influence of UX research, and where the field might be headed. This episode features Carl Sandburg's 1916 poem Skyscraper.

Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by John Bond, founder and executive director of Whitefox Publishing, and Toby Mundy, literary agent and former publisher, to explore and evaluate the business of publishing. Toby reflects on his career, from founding Atlantic Books, now as a literary agent and serving as Executive Director of the Baillie Gifford Prize. Against the backdrop of the London Book Fair, they discuss how shifts at book fairs reflect broader industry changes. Toby and John offer an insider's view of the publishing business, from its ongoing challenges to the role of commissioning editors, where the money is, and what makes a book a success. Julia also sits down with Hannah Bickerton, the new Managing Director of Whitefox, to discuss book marketing in an evolving industry and the potential role of AI in publishing's future. This episode is brought to you in association with Whitefox, exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Learn more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern talk to Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy about his working life. Rory shares anecdotes from a career in advertising and lessons from behavioural science.  The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production brought to you in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at thenowhereoffice.com and sandstoneglobal.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, we bring together three experts with very different perspectives on work to explore how we measure it, how we experience it, and how workplaces are changing. What is productivity, and why does it matter? Professor Dame Diane Coyle, economist and Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, joins Stefan to discuss why productivity is such a tricky thing to measure what GDP can and can't tell us. These ideas will be explored more in Diane's forthcoming book, The Measure of Progress. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Measure-Progress-Counting-Really-Matters/dp/0691179026). There is also a cameo from Sophie from Romania, of internet fame. Dr. Melissa Fisher is a cultural anthropologist at NYU and Parsons, who has studied Wall Street's culture and is now looking at the future of work. She shares insights into how work is shaped not just by numbers but by history, habits, and human behaviour. Phil Kirschner, workplace consultant and strategist, helps companies rethink their workplaces and manage the huge wave of change. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more at Workathon.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this My Working Life edition of the Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by Sam McAlister, the former Newsnight producer best known for securing the game-changing interview with Prince Andrew. She shares details of her background from working-class childhood to criminal barrister and her jump into TV. She talks about the joys of her newfound autonomy and the relentless hustle required to make it all work.  Sam takes us behind the scenes of TV news and gives her take on the pernicious role of class in the workplace.  The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by John Bond, founder of Whitefox Publishing to discuss the business of publishing.  We hear about how the industry has changed since the 1980s and 1990s when huge advances were handed out at the drop of a hat and books were acquired on professional instinct. That's been replaced by data-driven metrics and a clearer understanding of what consumers want. The episode provides advice for anyone looking to have a book published, explaining the current market, the steps involved and the roles that agents play. The episode features clips for Rebecca Frayn's novel Lost in Ibiza and Emily Ross and Alastair Crowl's Just Evil Enough. Both are published by Whitefox. This episode is brought to you in association with Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Learn more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Stefan Stern and Julia Hobsbawm discuss leadership with Barbara Kellerman. Our My Working Life feature is an interview with American union organiser Jaz Brisack, who has been involved with movements at Nissan, Starbucks, and Tesla. This episode covers: Tulip Siddiq's resignation and what it reveals about the challenges facing the workplace that is 10 Downing Street An interview with Barbara Kellerman, founding member of the Harvard Kennedy School, about her latest book Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers Reflections on Donald Trump's inauguration and his anti-establishment leadership style The abundance of bad leaders, from politics to business, and the important role of followers Declining trust in once-revered institutions Dissatisfaction with capitalism in the United States Luigi Mangione and the killing of Brian Thompson The styles of business leaders like Elizabeth Holmes and Elon Musk. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Hobsbawm interviews Syreeta Brown, Group Chief People & Communications Officer at Virgin Money. They explore the huge changes that have taken place in the workforce in recent years, whether those changes can be unravelled and discuss how ripping up the rule book can help to get, grow and retain great talent.  Also featured is a clip from an upcoming interview with Barbara Kellerman, renowned leadership writer and academic. She discusses the upcoming inauguration of President Trump, likening his bombastic style to that of a prizefighter. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a tribute to a dear friend of The Nowhere Office, Charles Handy, the management writer, who died this week aged 92. Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by the FT's Andrew Hill to discuss Handy's life and legacy, his extremely sharp predictions about work, the humanism at the heart of his thinking, and his unconventional practices like ‘empty chair' exercises. We have included an interview with Charles Handy from the very first episode of The Nowhere Office. In this episode's My Working Life segment, Indrani Sen, Features Editor at Fortune Magazine, tells us about journalism on 9/11 in New York, the sheer fun of her job, anxiety in legacy media, and a possible career shift. This sponsored feature is brought to you in association with Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Learn more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Books mentioned in the episode: By Charles Handy: The Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations (OUP, 1979) The Age of Unreason: New Thinking for a New World (Random House Business, 1989) The Empty Raincoat: Making Sense of the Future (Random House Business, 1995) The Elephant and the Flea: New Thinking for a New World (Random House Business, 2002) The Second Curve: Thoughts on Reinventing Society (Random House Business, 2015).  Also mentioned:  Dan Davies, The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind (Profile Books, 2024).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Hobsbawm speaks with Peter Miscovich, Executive Managing Director and Global Future of Work Leader at JLL, to explore the past, present, and future of offices around the world. They discuss the tech transformations in workplaces, quantum computing on the horizon and the massive changes in the past 50 years of work.  In this episode's My Working Life segment, we hear from Birgitte Stoerger of AuPairCare. With years of experience matching au pairs with families, Birgitte shares the joys of her work and the challenges faced by Au Pairs navigating a new life in the US.  This sponsored feature is brought to you in association with Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Learn more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in partnership with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Discover more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this My Working Life edition of the Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm is joined by Iain Dale to discuss his career as a broadcaster, author, publisher, editor, lobbyist and much more. This week's My Working Life segment features Olivia Alexander, a SoulCycle instructor. Olivia shares how the pandemic disrupted her musical theatre career and how SoulCycle has not only "filled her cup" but also helped her navigate grief. This sponsored feature is brought to you by Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Discover more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more at workathon.io. Also mentioned in the episode: Our Brain Bank: ourbrainbank.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this News from Nowhere, we bring you a conversation from a recent Workathon event in London: How the Media Works. Ravi Mattu, managing editor of The New York Times' DealBook, and Matthew D'Ancona, editor of The New European, joined Julia Hobsbawm to discuss the state of the media. Stefan Stern talks to journalist Carole Cadwalladr about the Tortoise-Observer deal. Carole shares candid views on paywalled versus free journalism and what she describes as the breathtaking arrogance and contempt of The Guardian's management. In this week's My Working Life, Jess is disappointed in the work ethic of younger colleagues and tells us about hospitality at 30,000 feet. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production, in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. This episode's sponsored feature is brought to you by Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Learn more at wearewhitefox.com. For more information, visit workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm is joined by author and speaker Terence Mauri to discuss his new book The Upside of Disruption: The Path to Leading and Thriving in the Unknown. Terence explores the risks of standing still in an age of rapid change and shares how a serious accident reshaped his career and perspective. The conversation covers warm and cold AI, future readiness, and his philosophy of reduction. This week's My Working Life features Declan Hogan, CFO of O'Dwyer Steel, who discusses the business of building. This sponsored feature is brought to you by Whitefox—exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Discover more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production, in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at workathon.io. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern welcome leadership coach and author Tiffany Gaskell, who has updated Sir John Whitmore's classic Coaching for Performance for its sixth edition. Since it was first published, the book has sold over one million copies. They explore coaching's origins in sports, the evolution of leadership styles, the impact of the pandemic on leadership, and whether AI could disrupt traditional coaching models. This week's My Working Life features Tony Michael from the Village Garage. He and Julia discuss his long career as a mechanic, being a one-man band, and why he never became a pilot.  The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in association with Sandstone Global Productions.  Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at workathon.io  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern dive into Google's new AI NotebookLM, debate Big Tech's increasingly inhuman approach to innovation, and explore the lasting influence of management guru Peter Drucker.  This week's My Working Life features a conversation with Bobby Healy, the founder of pioneering drone delivery service Manna, and Rory Sutherland, renowned ad-man and unlikely Tik-Tok star. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production, in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at workathon.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an addition to the regular Nowhere Office theme-led show is now a weekly episode looking at the headlines affecting the world of work. To kick off our additional show this week Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by Bloomberg's Irina Anghel to talk about the impact of Donald Trump's re-election as President of the United States on work, working life and workers. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production brought to you in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at workathon.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of The Nowhere Office, fresh off the UK government's budget announcement, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern welcome economist Vicky Pryce. They delve into the Economy of Work, exploring workforce inactivity and persistent challenges to productivity, with a special focus on the overlooked challenges faced by women in the workforce and the economic cost of prisons.  In our My Working Life segment, meet an entrepreneurial couple who run a cutting-edge retreat in the Bavarian Alps—one of whom sees himself as the “Winston Wolf” of tech. This sponsored feature is brought to you in association with Whitefox, exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Discover more at wearewhitefox.com. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more at Workathon.io and https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/thenowhereoffice/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern discuss hot topics in the world of work. They consider how McDonalds and restaurant tips have become political footballs in the US election and debate the appointment of Mariella Frostrup as Menopause Employment Ambassador in the UK.   Tom Redmayne of Industrious, a flex workspace giant, is in the studio to discuss the offices of today and tomorrow, our changing cityscapes and his fears about burgeoning debts in the corporate real estate market.    Plus, in the 'My Working Life' segment, we meet Rob and hear about his hattrick of careers, in association with White Fox Publishing: https://wearewhitefox.com/.   The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production brought to you in association with Sandstone Global Productions.    Music by Julian Brezon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern grapple with tensions at the UK's recent Investment Summit including the fallout from Louise Haigh's comments about P&O Ferries and DP World. They ask pressing questions about the world of work: How can governments be pro-business and pro-worker? Is legislation the answer to rapid changes in AI? What impact will a much-anticipated National Insurance hike have on employers?  We've got expert guests from the world of food tech; &Dine Chairman Guy Strafford and CEO Max Bennett tell us about the changing role of food in the workplace. Plus, in our My Working Life segment, we meet Meghan, a passionately political New Yorker who has turned her side hustle into a full-time business. The Nowhere Office is a Fully Connected Production brought to you in association with Sandstone Global Productions. Music by Julian Brezon. Find out more at thenowhereoffice.com and sandstoneglobal.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On The Nowhere Office, Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern dive into the essential news from the world of work, covering the UK Government's new employment plan, the dockworkers' strike and union power in the US, and return-to-office mandates from the likes of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.  Julia channels her inner Kemi Badenoch and Stefan offers sage advice from the world of management. Also joining the conversation is Sue Duke of LinkedIn who sounds the alarm about a growing shortage of skilled workers, which could stop us reaching Net Zero.  On the streets of New York, we meet Michael, a young computer science graduate delivering Amazon packages. That's our sponsored feature My Working Life, brought to you in association with Whitefox: Exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Find out more at www.wearewhitefox.com The Music is Amaru by Julian Brezon.  The Nowhere Office is Fully Connected Production brought to you in association with SandStone Global Productions.  https://thenowhereoffice.com/ https://www.sandstoneglobal.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given that hybrid working is here to stay we hear from one of the leading companies providing smart video conferencing which makes everyone feel that bit more connected – Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Boston-based Owl Labs, who gives a highly informative and data-rich interview covering everything from attitudes to flexible work through to whether we'll all be meeting in the Metaverse in the future – or not. Also in this episode we hear from the Financial Times features writer Emma Jacobs, who frequently covers work and careers, in our sponsored feature My Working Life, brought to you in association with Whitefox: Exceptional publishers for exceptional stories. Find out more at www.wearewhitefox.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wouldn't work be great if the human was put at the heart of the experience of working? And how do the all-too-human issues of conflict and difference play their part in well running workplaces with satisfied workers and customers?  In a wide-ranging and candid discussion KeyAnna Schmiedel, Chief Human Experience Officer of leading talent and employee reward and recognition platform Workhuman talks about this with Julia Hobsbawm.Also in this episode we hear about how award-winning writer and New Yorker journalist Ed Caesar  works in our sponsored feature My Working Life,  brought to you in association with Whitefox: exceptional publishers for exceptional stories: find out more at wearewhitefox.com

Plus: My Working Life with Tina Fordham This episode sees Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern discuss whether a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay can work across the board and if not why not? To argue the case they are joined by Joe Ryle of 4dayweek the British campaign. Also in this episode we hear about how geopolitical strategist Tina Fordham of Fordham Global Foresight works in a new feature bringing a snapshot of working life to our audience. My Working Life is brought to you in association with Whitefox: exceptional publishers for exceptional stories: find out more at wearewhitefox.com

We begin a brand new series this spring with the wisdom and optimism of one of the great legends in HR practice, strategy, and thought leadership: Josh Bersin. Josh is often cited as one of the leading HR and workplace industry analysts in the world. Most recently, Bersin launched the Josh Bersin Academy, the world's first global development academy for HR and talent professionals at all levels and across all industries. You can listen to the beginning of this interview and then head for more content and additional material to The Nowhere Office with Julia Hobsbawm on Substack.

The third special programme in association with PwC UK to look at developments around AI at work and in society, timed to coincide with The World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024 and asking the question: are we at a fork in the road in terms of AI and its impact on the future of work?  Co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern were joined in studio by Kevin Ellis, the Alliance Senior partner of the UK and Middle East of PWC UK and Gina Neff, director of the Cambridge University Minderoo Center For Technology and Democracy.

We end 2023 and series five with an interview with Dr Gleb Tsipursky of Disaster Avoidance Experts, also known as "The Office Whisperer" by chief executives for his ability to help them navigate and negotiate flexible working and he explains his approach to Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern at the end of another turbulent post-Covid year in the world of work. A Fully Connected production, edited by Kevin Hirshorn.

An important and evolving topic at work is diversity, unconscious bias and how to have a harmonious workplace in an increasingly conflict-laden world outside of work. Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by the acclaimed business psychologist, co-founder and senior partner of firm Pearn Kandola whose books include Racism at Work: The Danger of Indifference

In this episode, the genius behavioural expert and advertising guru Rory Sutherland, Vice-President of advertising Group Ogilvy joins Julia Hobsbawm (co-host Stefan Stern is away) and Aled Maclean Jones of series 5 partner Ashore.io to discuss the dark and stormy challenges of flexibly working over, appropriately, Dark and Stormy cocktails…..A Fully Connected Production, edited by Kevin Hirshorn.

Join Julia Hobsbawm in discussion with Roy Bahat, head of Bloomberg Beta, the first venture capital firm to invest in AI at work as far back as 2016. In a wide-ranging discussion covering trade unionism, technology and innovation and the philosophy of work including the question: what will the last job be? A Fully Connected production co-hosted with Stefan Stern and edited by Kevin Hirshorn.

Meet ‘proptech' guru Dave Eisenberg of Zigg Capital, the New York based global investment firm at the intersection of real estate and technology, and quite a bit in between. He spoke to Julia Hobsbawm in Manhattan about AI trends at work, why we still need an office but how it's changed, and what the jobs of the future may look like. Co-hosted with Stefan Stern, a Fully Connected Production.

Joining Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern today in the second of our AI specials brought to you in association with PwC UK is Azeem Azhar, Global Futurist and AI expert who hosts the Bloomberg Originals series Exponentially, and whose newsletter Exponential View is one of the first technology watchers turn to for the latests twists and turns in AI. Azeem is Co-Chair, Global Futures Council on Complex Risks, World Economic Forum and we also get a response to his current take from Ben Higgin, PwC UK's Head of Technology & Investment. A Fully Connected production.

A special programme in association with PwC UK to look at developments around AI at work and in society, linked to the UK AI Safety Summit hosted at Bletchley Park, England at the beginning of November 2023. Co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern were joined in studio by Ben Higgin, Head of Technology & Investment PwC UK, and Alice Thwaite, technology ethicist and philosopher to ask just how different this moment is in the story of technology in society and at work, how risks and rights can be managed alongside growth opportunity. 

In this episode co-hosted by Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern, Julia goes to California to the 2023 Implications of Remote Work Conference hosted at Stanford University by the Hoover Institution and Stanford Institute for Economic and Policy Research Conference (SIEPR). Guests include Professors Steve J. Davis of Hoover Institution; Jan Brockner of University of California, Irvine; the future of work consultant and Linked In ‘Top Voice' Brian Elliott; and Emma Goldberg, the acclaimed reporter on work for the New York Times.  

We dip back across the ocean today with our Series 5 partner Ashore.io to discuss with founder Aled Maclean-Jones what working in a hybrid way out of both office and home means. We also discuss generational shifts in work with Eleanor Mills, founder of Noon, the website for midlife women. Join co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern for a lively fun discussion this episode. Lots of laughing! Series partner: www.ashore.io

Our US theme continues in this exclusive  podcast interview with Professor Juliet B. Schor, the economist and sociologist who advocates the four day week, and who predicted many of the moments the workplace is experiencing as far back as 1992 with her seminal book The Overworked American. She joins Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern in a wide ranging and deep diving discussion looking at the underlying factors behind what it means to be a working American today. This new series of The Nowhere Office is in association with Ashore.io

The 5th series of our podcast which looks at the past, present and of course the future of work begins with an American theme to tie in with Labor Day 2023. Our guest is Rob Sadow, Co-Founder and CEO of flexible working tech tool company Scoop, a Top LinkedIn Voice on Flexible Work and founder of the acclaimed Flex Index who joins Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern to pore over the latest data and opinion about the adoption of hybrid working.

A one-off special between series, a long conversation with Kevin Ellis of PWC, Chairman and Senior Partner of UK and Middle East who is candid on all aspects of the return to office and hybrid working dilemmas, challenges and opportunities he sees in the post pandemic moment. It's all about Culture, Talent and Networks he says to Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern.

In this final episode of series 4, recorded on the third anniversary of UK lockdown from Covid-19, co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by Tim Oldman and Allison English of Leesman, the world leader in measuring and analysing the experiences of employees in their places of work and they discuss the new project The Hybrid Future, a new longitudinal study into how the workplace is changing and with it society.

How fair is work? In the third in a special series in association with Prospect, the leading British union for professional skilled workers The Nowhere Office co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern talk exclusively to Baron John Hendy KC, one of the UK's most prominent employment barristers who has made landmark case law over five decades before being joined by Philippa Childs, Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, heading up Bectu, to discuss the history and contemporary aspects of a fair workplace. Has digital working made life harder or easier for those in and outside offices? Plus perspective from Prospect's Andrew Pakes, Deputy General Secretary and Director of Communications and Research. A Fully Connected production executive produced by Julia Hobsbawm.

Join us in New York for this edition of The Nowhere Office as we see how get an exclusive tour of real estate consultancy Savill's Park Avenue office refurb for hybrid working from Vice President Gabe Marans with soundproofed booths and the very latest gadgets to make an office as happy and workable as possible. Co-hosted by Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern. A Fully Connected production.

We go back to New York City for this episode, chiefly to talk to Helen Brocklebank, CEO of British luxury trade sector body, Walpole, as she explained to Julia Hobsbawm how talk of the changing nature of work affects every level of her sector. In addition we hear from some New York building representatives and exhibitors at NYBuildExpo to get a flavour of work's rebuild. Presented by Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern.

The workplace is changing, this is now undeniable. But how is it changing? In the second in a special series in association with Prospect, the leading British union for professional skilled workers co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern look at issues from desks to rights and regions with Alison McGovern MP, Shadow Employment Minister, and Member of Parliament for Wirral South, Adrian Wooldridge, Bloomberg's Global Business Columnist, as well as Hafsa Begum, Prospect's Head of Finance and Estates who takes us on a tour of the next generation trade union building, and once again perspective from Prospect's Andrew Pakes, Deputy General Secretary and Director of Communications and Research and celebrated barrister Jamie Susskind of 11KBW chambers.

The Nowhere Office this week goes to the gym – MindGym, with an in-depth interview with Octavius Black CBE, co-founder and Chief Executive, one of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs. MindGym is the largest behavioural science company in the world. It has worked with 62% of the FTSE 100 and 59% of the S&P 100, changing the way more than 5 million professionals think, feel and behave at work. Co-hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern discuss what does - and doesn't work – when it comes to coaching, psychology and behaviour change at work and Octavius pulls no punches!

At the heart of trade union negotiation around work and workplace issues is the resolution of conflict, not the escalation of it. What really happens in sensitive negotiations like this? And how much has the world of work become a conflict zone for rights in the post-pandemic workplace? This is the first in a special series in association with Prospect, the leading British union for professional skilled workers. Co-Hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern dive deep with Mike Clancy, Prospect's General Secretary and Andrew Pakes, Deputy General Secretary plus guests Sarah O'Connor of the Financial Times and barrister Jamie Susskind.

Today Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by the acclaimed author and workplace strategist Gabriella Braun, Director of the consultancy Working Well, whose book All That We Are: Uncovering The Hidden Truths behind our behaviour at work covers some of her riveting first hand experience uncovering the emotional subtext behind what really happens inside organisations from the boardroom down. They discuss whether post pandemic people are more or less willing to face what they really feel about work and at work.

One of the most vexed questions raised by The Nowhere Office is what happens to office space. Our regular hosts Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern are joined by guest presenter Joanna Swash, Group CEO of Moneypenny, the live call and chat experts to probe and explore the complexity of the topic with Michael Creamer, whose property-related portfolio of roles includes being Chairman, Global Occupier Services, EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield.

This episode The Nowhere Officers Julia Hobsbawm and Stefan Stern have the pleasure of speaking with Frauke Von Polier, voted Europe's Chief Human Resources Officer of the Year 2022, and Chief People Officer for German-based manufacturing company Viessman Group. She discusses in candid detail the priorities today, and the value of teams over the individual. An HR-must-listen!