{"id":170,"date":"2025-10-21T16:07:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/?p=170"},"modified":"2025-10-21T16:07:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T15:07:22","slug":"meet-the-member-neal-layton-on-flexible-work-real-world-insight-and-a-phd-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/2025\/10\/21\/meet-the-member-neal-layton-on-flexible-work-real-world-insight-and-a-phd-with-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Member: Neal Layton on Flexible Work, Real-World Insight, and a PhD with Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Meet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Meet Neal Layton<\/a>, one of our newest PhD Students. For Neal, pursuing a PhD isn\u2019t just an academic milestone\u2014it\u2019s a meaningful way to round off a dynamic career that\u2019s spanned consultancy, leadership, and even a stint in a banking start-up. \u201cI loved the research during my Master\u2019s\u201d he says. \u201cThis felt like a great way to finish working life ahead of retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With over 25 years in senior leadership roles across manufacturing and financial services, Neal brings a wealth of real-world insight to his academic work. His most recent role at the Bank of London immersed him in the evolving nature of work in a post-pandemic world. \u201cLeading teams through remote, hybrid, and in-person models sparked a deep interest in how these transitions affect engagement, productivity, and cohesion,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Neal\u2019s academic journey has been anything but linear. After studying maths and biology at university, he continued learning throughout his career, eventually earning a Master\u2019s in Operations Management and Supervision from Lancaster. Though he planned to return to academia in 2019, a four-year detour into the world of fintech delayed that goal\u2014until now. He\u2019s back, and this time, he\u2019s diving deep into the evolving world of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now undertaking his PhD at the University of Greenwich, Neal is exploring the impact of the return-to-office (RTO) movement<\/strong> in the UK\u2019s banking and tech sectors. \u201cThe Employee Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 is pushing hybrid work into the mainstream, but most managers haven\u2019t been trained to adapt their leadership styles accordingly,\u201d he notes. His research aims to understand how organisations navigate this shift, and how leadership can evolve to sustain both performance and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neal\u2019s research is still in its early stages, but his focus is clear: understanding how organisations can evolve in response to new working norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that RTO presents a fundamental change requirement between the traditional management practices and what will be seen as the new norm moving forward\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s particularly interested in the intersection of management practice, psychological safety, and organisational culture\u2014drawing inspiration from researchers like Thomas Roulet, Almuth McDowall, and Julian Birkinshaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neal\u2019s doctoral work is still in its early stages, but he\u2019s already seeking to engage with senior executives and professionals who have experienced the RTO transition firsthand. \u201cYour experiences are invaluable,\u201d he says. \u201cThey offer a unique perspective on the operational, cultural, and financial implications of these decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a new member of NUSC, Neal is looking forward to contributing real-world insights and building camaraderie within the research community. \u201cI\u2019m excited to be part of something that connects academic thinking with practical impact,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he\u2019s not immersed in research, Neal enjoys the gym, walking, travelling, and spending time with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neal\u2019s research touches on one of the most pressing shifts in today\u2019s working world: how we adapt to hybrid and flexible work. Have you experienced the return-to-office transition in your own organisation? Are you exploring similar themes in your research or practice? Why not connect to Neal on Linkedin<\/a> or drop him an email<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation by commenting below or tagging us on social media (#NUSCResearch) \u2014let\u2019s explore how we can shape more adaptive, inclusive workplaces together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Neal Layton, one of our newest PhD Students. For Neal, pursuing a PhD isn\u2019t just an academic milestone\u2014it\u2019s a meaningful way to round off a dynamic career that\u2019s spanned consultancy, leadership, and even a stint in a banking start-up. \u201cI loved the research during my Master\u2019s\u201d he says. \u201cThis felt like a great way to finish working life ahead of retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[135],"tags":[173,171,52,13,172,174],"class_list":["post-170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meet-the-member","tag-banking","tag-hybrid-working","tag-leadership","tag-leadership-for-change","tag-return-to-office","tag-technology","has-thumbnail"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/neal.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/nusc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}