HNY Geeks, let's get down to business.
Workplace Geeks
Workplace Geeks are on a mission to find and celebrate the most exciting and inspiring workplace research in the world.
Hello there.
Hopefully, you've all managed to make the transition from party mode into work mode successfully and are now full of the drive and ambition that is so common in January (less so in February...)
We have and whilst we find ourselves beyond series two, and staring into the abyss whilst we wait for series three to kick in, we're keeping ourselves busy with some content and events so that you can get your Workplace Geeks fix.
Blogging ourselves down
We've been meaning to do it for ages, but we finally got around to putting some of the interesting ideas from our episodes down into the written word with a series of blogs that quickly summarise the episode's key themes (with a handy link through to the episode if you missed it).
We opened up with Dr Nigel Oseland , a friend of the show and 'host with the most' at the wonderful Workplace Trends events. If you remember we spoke to him about his Beyond the Workplace Zoo: Humanising the Office.
When we asked Nigel about the origins of the book he mentioned the work of Desmond Morris; his books The Naked Ape and the Human Zoo. Having spent a lifetime observing the behaviours of animals Morris noted the similarity between animals in captivity and that of humans in cities. These unnatural environments cause health problems, and challenges in developing healthy relationships. Even issues around reproduction.......
Nigel takes this idea a stage further by exploring the working environments that so many of us have had to endure. How unnatural they are and how damaging they are to productivity. It's something that many of us would probably suggest intuitively but Nigel takes us deep into environmental psychology to understand it at a scientific level. He also gives a sizable nod to Bürolandschaft (German for Office Landscaping) popularised by the Quickborner consultancy in the 1950s and explores a modern take on it.
So if that sounds like your sort of thing you can check out the blog and the pod episode here.
And....our second blog explored Chris' new favourite topic; space syntax. Since speaking to Dr Kerstin Sailer about the phenomenal work that she and her team have done, Chris has become obsessed. Mentioning it at any available opportunity.
As a quick summary, space syntax is a method that allows researchers to quantify space (using a grid system) and to look at the view a desk (for example) has and how many other desks and people can be viewed from that space, attaching a score to it. But, what happens next is the ability to explore satisfaction with workplace experience based on the space syntax data and from there we can see that the amount of desks behind you, and in front of you, can have a huge bearing on whether you think the space can support collaboration, concentration, productive work.
They were even able to take the method into hospitals and connect the space syntax data to better communication between nursing staff and improved medical outcomes!
Sure, people could probably guess that people prefer not to have loads of desks behind them. But some of the insights that Kerstin was able to bring to the interview that explained that sensation, as well as dispelling a few myths along the way, is not to be missed. So if that sounds interesting and you want a better explanation of space syntax than the one we've just fudged through check out the blog here and then have a listen.
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Get your Geeks Fix
Whilst it's disappointing not to have new episodes, the break offers the opportunity to explore the most popular episodes from series two so why not check out:
Geek on, geek off young grasshopper | with guest host Esme Banks Marr
Just call it 'work' | with Kate Lister
The Workplace Geeks Tour 2024
Well, not quite, we're not that big yet but we are going to be at a number of events in 2024 so keep an eye on the below list each time to see if there's one you fancy joining us at.
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