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

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 [email protected] 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.

• View the programme and book your tickets for the ACBS UKROI Conference in November
• Interactive Q&A: ACT in the workplace - Contextual Consulting

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