Redefining Work

In this episode of Spatial Attraction, Kursty Groves is in conversation with Jeremy Myerson about why the return-to-office debate refuses to settle.

Together, they explore the “halfway house” we’re living in now: work that feels more flexible and more unsettled at the same time.

Jeremy is Professor Emeritus at the Royal College of Art, founder of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, and co-founder of WorkTech Academy.

They unpack:

• Why hybrid work can increase friction, anonymity, and the coordination load
• Jeremy’s “three waves” of office evolution (efficiency → social democratic → networked)
• The hidden costs of distributed work, including lost mentoring and tacit learning
• Why the office is still psychologically central, even when we work from anywhere
• Why we may be measuring the wrong things, and what it means to design for experience
• What becomes more valuable as AI accelerates visible output: judgement, trust, cohesion, and shared meaning

For companion notes and research links, visit the episode page:

https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/spatial-attraction-redefining-work-with-jeremy-myerson/

About Jeremy Myerson

Jeremy Myerson is a design writer and academic based in London.

He is Professor Emeritus at the Royal College of Art, founder of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, and co-founder of WorkTech Academy.

His most recent book is Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office (2022).

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email jen@spatial-attraction-podcast.com.

Spatial Attraction is a podcast about the spaces we work in, and the forces that shape how we think, interact, and perform.

In each episode, Kursty Groves explores the conditions people are working inside across physical, digital, social, cognitive, and temporal space - and what to notice, name, and redesign when those conditions are working against us.

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email jen@spatial-attraction-podcast.com.

Space for Trust
In this episode of Spatial Attraction, Kursty Groves is in conversation with Rachel Botsman about how trust has been reorganised over time, and what that means for the spaces we work inside now. Together, they explore how trust is shaped by the conditions people are working inside, and how uncertainty, discomfort and friction interact with visibility, proximity and format to subtly influence who is heard, believed, and relied upon.

For companion notes and research links, visit the episode page: https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/spatial-attraction-trust-spaces/

About Rachel Botsman

Rachel Botsman is a leading global expert on trust and the author of What’s Mine Is Yours, Who Can You Trust?, and How To Trust & Be Trusted. Her work explores how trust is formed, tested, and redesigned as society, technology, and institutions change.

She has advised and spoken to organisations including Salesforce, Goldman Sachs, Adobe, Gartner, and EY, and was the first Trust Fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.

Rachel has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, Wired, Financial Times, Time, and Fast Company.

Rethink with Rachel is Rachel’s thought-provoking newsletter on trust, leadership, and change, read by leaders, founders, and decision-makers worldwide.

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email jen@spatial-attraction-podcast.com.