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How we used to work

How we used to work

Update: 2025-10-21
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Hi there and a very warm welcome to Season 6 Episode 34 of People Soup, it's Ross McIntosh here.

P-Soupers - today it's another cuppa soup - a short episode where I continue to reflect on change. Last week I talked about the challenge of change. This week I'm reflecting on how we used to work. It's possible that the rate of change has accelerated over the last 30 years - and we're increasingly more preoccupied with the impact of Artificial Intelligence.

This week, I take a trip back in time to my first job in the UK Civil Service, circa 1991 — where paper files ruled, the typing pool clattered away, and the office bar was just a lift ride away.

I explores:

  • What “non-smoking” really meant in the early ’90s 🌀
  • The mysterious world of fitted for promotion annual reports
  • Early digital transformation — complete with barcode wands and a legendary “mouse moment”
  • And what all this tells us about change, adaptability, and humour at work

💌 Share your story!

I'd love to hear your memories of early work life — the quirks, the culture, the things that make you say “good lord, can you believe it used to be like that?”

Email peoplesoup.pod@gmail.com or share on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Bluesky.

For those of you who are new to People Soup - welcome - it's great to have you here - I aim to provide you with ingredients for a better work life from behavioural science and beyond. For those of you who are regular P Soupers - thanks for tuning in - we love it that you're part of our community.


Read about our Chisi Awards from #365daysofcompassion for Best Podcast

Leave a review as a WhatsApp voicenote on +0034696636487

Ross' new website

Our Podcast Website on CAPTIVATE

People Soup on Instagram which also features plenty of Ross' photos of the Andalusian life

And you can connect with Ross on LinkedIn

He's now also on Bluesky

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How we used to work

How we used to work