Shaping the future workplace: insights on people, AI, leadership and flexibility In the latest episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2025, Lucy Lewis speaks with Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD. Lucy and Peter revisit their 2021 conversation, exploring how the workplace focus has evolved since the pandemic. They discuss the importance of people in organisations, evolving employee expectations, and the critical role of leadership and culture. They touch on the ongoing deb...
Mar 05, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Strategic Workforce Priorities for 2025 and Beyond – What matters most? In the first episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2025, Lucy delves into the findings of our recent survey and report, "Strategic Workforce Priorities – What Matters Most?". Lucy explores the major shifts shaping workforce planning and HR strategy, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges businesses will face in the coming years. Lucy discusses how businesses are navigating the pressures o...
Feb 14, 2025•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the course of this year, we’ve hosted conversations with leading experts and thinkers to explore their perspectives on the future of work and consider the opportunities and challenges ahead for employers and their people as the world of work continues to evolve rapidly. In this final episode of 2024, our podcast host, Lucy Lewis, Employment Partner at Lewis Silkin, reflects on the conversations she has had this year and draws together a range of insightful perspectives shared by her guests....
Dec 11, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to this month’s podcast, where we reflect on the impact of recent global elections on the future of workplace regulation. Join Lucy and partners James Davies and David Hopper as they explore emerging global trends and their implications for the UK. Discover how political shifts are reshaping the employer-employee relationships and union influence in an increasingly volatile and uncertain landscape.
Nov 14, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the latest episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2024, Lucy speaks with Dr Vivienne Ming, a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Socos Labs, a company dedicated to leveraging AI-driven research to maximise human potential. In this conversation, Lucy and Vivienne explore the evolving relationship between AI and the workforce, discussing how technology can enhance our capabilities rather than merely focus on productivity gains. Vivienne emphasises the conce...
Oct 02, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the seventh episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2024, Lucy speaks to Simon Roberts, anthropologist, author and co-founder of Stripe Partners, a consultancy firm which incorporates social and data science to give companies a deep understanding of the world, their customers and their organisation. In this conversation, Lucy and Simon discuss anthropology and why, in a tech and data driven world, it is increasingly being used by organisations to better understand the behaviours ...
Sep 04, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the sixth episode of our “In Conversation..” podcast series for 2024, Lucy speaks to Giles Gibbons, co-founder and CEO of Good Business, a strategy consultancy firm with almost 30 years of experience advising organisations on purpose, behaviour change, sustainability and responsible business strategies. While many organisations are taking positive steps to manage their social and environmental impact, the sustainability agenda continues to move faster than business’s rate of change. In this c...
Jul 02, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this fifth episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2024, Lucy is joined by fellow Lewis Silkin partners and co-heads of the Data, Privacy and Cyber Group, Alexander Milner-Smith and Bryony Long. In this fascinating conversation, Alex and Bryony discuss a variety of emerging technologies, their use cases in the workplace and the potential legal and people-related risks that might arise. Some of these technologies are ones that many businesses are already exploring, such as the met...
Jun 04, 2024•34 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast In this fourth episode of our “In Conversation…” podcast series for 2024, Lucy revisits a fascinating conversation she had on navigating and managing workplace conflict with David Liddle, founder and CEO of TCM Group. Recorded in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, this conversation from 2022 resonates with many of the challenges businesses are experiencing today. Growing societal divisions and tensions are increasingly spilling into the workplace, such that navigating and managing workplac...
May 08, 2024•19 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In the third episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2024 Lucy is joined by Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy in the CIPD. The relationship between employer and employee is changing and the “social contract” is evolving. There’s a growing focus on ethical behaviour, on people’s individual needs and on “good work”. In this episode, Lucy and Ben explore what “good work” is and why it should matter to employers and their people. They consider the key drivers shaping the good wor...
Apr 02, 2024•22 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In the second episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2024 Lucy is joined by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of 20-first, one of the world's leading global consultancies focused on balancing gender, generations and culture. Lucy and Avivah discuss some of the key demographic shifts impacting the labour market and explore why generational balance needs to be a business priority. Avivah explains the importance of longevity literacy amongst workforces and leadership teams, and how...
Mar 13, 2024•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In the first episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2024 Lucy is joined by fellow Lewis Silkin partner Naomi Hanrahan-Soar . Lucy and Naomi discuss the trends behind shifting migration patterns and what that means for the workplace. They explore how employers can harness the benefits of migration, while also addressing a range of challenges. Key takeaways: Brexit has had a significant influence on the type of migration to the UK: One impact of Brexit is an increase in migratio...
Feb 07, 2024•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Over the course of this year, we’ve hosted conversations with leading experts and thinkers to explore their perspectives on the future of work and consider the opportunities and challenges ahead for employers and their people as the world of work continues to evolve rapidly. In this final episode of 2023, our podcast host, Lucy Lewis, Employment Partner at Lewis Silkin, reflects on the conversations she has had this year and draws together a range of insightful perspectives shared by her guests....
Dec 04, 2023•36 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast In the tenth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin, speaks to Shruti Singh, Senior Economist at the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs . Lucy and Shruti discuss the impact of ageing populations on the world of work and how employers, governments and individuals can respond to demographic shifts and build productive intergenerational workforces. Key takeaways from the conversation: Ageing populations are a growi...
Oct 30, 2023•21 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast In the ninth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, is joined by Paul Miller, Chief Creative Officer and founder of the Digital Workplace Group. “We are living in a time which is no longer the industrial age, it’s not even the digital age; it is the living age.” Lucy and Paul discuss the need for organisational adaptiveness and resilience to better withstand and respond to the current disruption and pressure on business, and explo...
Sep 21, 2023•24 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In the eighth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, partner at Lewis Silkin LLP is joined by fellow partner James Davies. What if these optimists have been seriously underestimating the pace and scale at which automation will replace and change the jobs of today in the second quarter of the century? What if the insipid productivity growth we have experienced over the last 10 years or so continues into the second quarter of the century? And what if we have to...
Aug 31, 2023•20 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In the seventh episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP is joined by fellow partners Colin Leckey and Tarun Tawakley. “There is the opportunity to be ahead of the regulators and not wait for the regulation to catch up with you but be the ones who are innovating and taking the lead when it comes to developing the models that are most attractive for the people who want to work with you.” As expectations around work continue to evolve, ...
Jul 04, 2023•31 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In the sixth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP speaks to Nimmi Patel, Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity at techUK and advisory board member of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre. “The impact of generative AI is expected to vary from industry to industry and people have said it can cause significant disruption. But, email caused significant disruption, the printing press caused significant disruption, and I think we...
Jun 01, 2023•25 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast In the fifth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP speaks to Joe Ryle, Director at the 4 Day Week Campaign. “All these long working hours that we put in don’t really produce very good results but produce a lot of burnout, a lot of stress, a lot of overwork, a lot of unhappiness and, not only is that no way to live, it’s also no way to run an economy.” The UK’s four-day week trial has been hailed as a breakthrough moment for the mo...
Apr 27, 2023•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast In the fourth episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP speaks to Nita Clarke OBE. Nita is the Director of the Involvement and Participation Association, a leading organisation delivering employee engagement, partnership and employee voice in the workplace. “People want respect and fairness and to be listened to, and to have their diverse needs thought about. That operates in workplaces now in a way I genuinely don’t think it did a ge...
Apr 04, 2023•30 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In the third episode of our “In Conversation with...” podcast series for 2023, Lucy Lewis, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP, speaks to Philip Ross, Founder and CEO of UnGroup and Cordless Group and Jeremy Myerson, Director of WORKTECH Academy. Jeremy and Philip recently co-authored the book ‘Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office’ and, in this episode, they share their insights into the future of the office. Philip and Jeremy consider the habits and rituals we will need to ‘unlearn’ in order...
Mar 07, 2023•28 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In the second episode of our “In Conversation with…” podcast series for 2023, Partner Lucy Lewis speaks to Penelope Mantzaris, Senior Vice President at Edelman Data & Intelligence about trust and how it is evolving. “Trust is the foundation that allows an organisation to take responsible risk and to innovate and, if it makes mistakes, to rebound from them”. With the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer hot off the press, Penelope and Lucy consider the role that trust has to play in an increasingly p...
Feb 14, 2023•23 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In the first episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2023, Lucy speaks to James Davies, Partner at Lewis Silkin LLP. James is a leading expert in employment law and speaks widely on issues relating to the future of work. He published his latest report on the future of work, “Eight drivers of change: 2022 and beyond” in November last year. In this episode, James and Lucy explore the impact generational attitudes, particularly those of younger generations, are having on work and ...
Jan 10, 2023•28 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast In our 2022 ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series Lucy Lewis asked ten leading experts and thinkers to share their insights into what the future of work could hold. In this final episode of 2022, Lucy reflects on the conversations she has had this year and draws together many of the insightful perspectives shared by her guests. Lucy explores the key themes that emerged across her conversations. These touched on the role of trust in the workplace, the impact of shifting employee values across ge...
Dec 06, 2022•39 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast In the tenth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Partner Lucy Lewis speaks to Elizabeth Bieniek, Director of Innovation at Cisco and an internal start-up founder. Elizabeth’s particular focus is on the interface between people and emerging technology, developing technologies that will help build a bridge between our experiences today and the experiences that might be possible as technology advances. In this fascinating discussion, Elizabeth and Lucy consider how techn...
Nov 01, 2022•23 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast In the ninth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy speaks to Ritu Mohanka, Managing Director and Head of EMEA at Syndio, a leading workplace equity platform. In this episode, Ritu shares her fascinating insights into how data can be used to drive workplace and pay equity and how businesses are responding to increasing pressure from stakeholders, employees and legislators to address systematic bias in the workplace. Ritu discusses the important role that communicati...
Oct 03, 2022•30 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In the eighth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy speaks to Dr Grace Lordan, an Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and the Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative which supports firms to build more inclusive workplace cultures. Dr Lordan discusses the importance of leveraging under-represented talent in the workplace and the practical steps that businesses can take, particularly in light of the challenges presented by hybrid working. She ...
Sep 05, 2022•27 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In the seventh episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy Lewis speaks to Harriet Molyneaux, Managing Director at HSM Advisory. As a future of work expert, Harriet shares her practical expertise on the big future of work trends of the moment. Harriet explores how organisations can embrace hybrid working to create sustainable high performance environments with productive and happy employees before turning to how employee voice can be harnessed as a check and balance mech...
Jul 06, 2022•28 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In the sixth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy Lewis speaks to David Liddle, founder and CEO of TCM Group and best selling author. David is passionate about reforming organisational culture and HR conflict resolution processes, believing we need to move away from the retributive systems of blame, shame and punishment within workplaces. David explains how managing conflict needs to become a strategic priority, with dialogue having primacy rather than retribution...
Jun 07, 2022•29 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast In the fifth episode of our ‘In Conversation with…’ podcast series for 2022, Lucy Lewis speaks to Kevin Cook, CEO and co-founder of TreasurySpring, a fintech company launched in 2016. Kevin discusses the ESG demands that are at play in the market as well as exploring how awareness and focus on ESG has shifted over the past few years. Kevin explains that pressure doesn’t only come from investors, but also employees who want to understand company views on fostering an ESG agenda, with a clear warn...
Apr 28, 2022•23 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast 
