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Return of the (workplace) Jedi | with Rob Harris
After the two event specials showcasing 2025's Workplace Leaders Top 50 winners, the Geeks are back in the studio with a guest who - with 40 years of professional practice under his belt - is practically part of the UK workplace lore. Author, consultant and workplace historian Dr Rob Harris returns to share insights from his latest book: A History of the Office and Office Work: From Castle to Condominium (Routledge, 2025).
Rob first joined us just over a year ago to talk about London’s global office economy. This time, he takes us even further back... all the way to the 17th-century in fact, with the Great Fire of London, the insurance deals of London's coffee houses, and the financial revolution that shaped modern business. From clerical factories to corporate skyscrapers, digital revolutions to today’s networked era, Rob charts how office work, economics, and urban life have co-evolved across centuries.
In this wide-ranging and fascinating conversation, we explore:
- Why the office is an overlooked but essential part of economic and urban history
- How events like the Great Fire of London and the rise of insurance reshaped work
- The evolution from market-era offices to corporate empires and the digital age
- Bureaucracy, the management “demiurge” and the rise of white-collar culture
- Why generative AI and hybrid work are forcing us to rethink what offices are for
- And whether the future of workplace has come full circle, back to collaboration and social connection
No reflection section guest for this one, but listen out for the winners of the S4E5 competition, where MillerKnoll's Mark Catchlove gave us three reprint copies of Robert Propst's classic treatise from 1968, The Office: A Facility Based on Change
Oh, and a little Workplace Geeks mystery too...
📩 Subscribe for new episodes, events and workplace insight from the Geeks community.
⭐️ Enjoying the show? Follow, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people discover us.
💬 Got an idea, guest suggestion, or workplace topic we should explore?
Follow Workplace Geeks on LinkedIn
Join the conversation using #WorkplaceGeeks
Or email us at [email protected]
Workplace Geeks is brought to you by Audiem ⚡️
Helping organisations make better workplace decisions through AI-powered insight and employee feedback.
Supported by 2468 Group ☕️
🎧 Dialogue editing by David Crackles
View all episodes
By Chris Moriarty and Ian EllisonAfter the two event specials showcasing 2025's Workplace Leaders Top 50 winners, the Geeks are back in the studio with a guest who - with 40 years of professional practice under his belt - is practically part of the UK workplace lore. Author, consultant and workplace historian Dr Rob Harris returns to share insights from his latest book: A History of the Office and Office Work: From Castle to Condominium (Routledge, 2025).
Rob first joined us just over a year ago to talk about London’s global office economy. This time, he takes us even further back... all the way to the 17th-century in fact, with the Great Fire of London, the insurance deals of London's coffee houses, and the financial revolution that shaped modern business. From clerical factories to corporate skyscrapers, digital revolutions to today’s networked era, Rob charts how office work, economics, and urban life have co-evolved across centuries.
In this wide-ranging and fascinating conversation, we explore:
- Why the office is an overlooked but essential part of economic and urban history
- How events like the Great Fire of London and the rise of insurance reshaped work
- The evolution from market-era offices to corporate empires and the digital age
- Bureaucracy, the management “demiurge” and the rise of white-collar culture
- Why generative AI and hybrid work are forcing us to rethink what offices are for
- And whether the future of workplace has come full circle, back to collaboration and social connection
No reflection section guest for this one, but listen out for the winners of the S4E5 competition, where MillerKnoll's Mark Catchlove gave us three reprint copies of Robert Propst's classic treatise from 1968, The Office: A Facility Based on Change
Oh, and a little Workplace Geeks mystery too...
📩 Subscribe for new episodes, events and workplace insight from the Geeks community.
⭐️ Enjoying the show? Follow, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people discover us.
💬 Got an idea, guest suggestion, or workplace topic we should explore?
Follow Workplace Geeks on LinkedIn
Join the conversation using #WorkplaceGeeks
Or email us at [email protected]
Workplace Geeks is brought to you by Audiem ⚡️
Helping organisations make better workplace decisions through AI-powered insight and employee feedback.
Supported by 2468 Group ☕️
🎧 Dialogue editing by David Crackles