As remote working becomes the norm rather than the exception for many office workers around the globe, Julia explores a radical new way of thinking about work both now and in the future. Offering a strategic and practical guide to negotiating this pivotal moment in the history of work, she examines the problems which best work – the endemic stagnant productivity and crisis of stress which predate the pandemic – and the new challenges of remote working, re-purposing offices, managing WFH teams and satisfying the demand for more purposeful work with greater work/life balance.

Mona will examine key global trends and explore what they mean for leaders and organizations. What are the primary factors causing a decrease in employee wellbeing and the resulting increase in burnout and health problems? How can organizations create a culture of high engagement and wellbeing? What are the key risks and opportunities for organizations regarding employees’ positive perception of the job market and what are the implications for talent attraction and retention strategies.

It is not time to rethink the office. It is time to rethink work. The ideology behind the office is still strong, but its physical existence present form is not. BVN has supported organisations around the world with their workplace futures for more than 25 years, with countless integrated examples in its portfolio. As presence grows for the practice in Europe, hear from former CEO James Grose as he discusses the social philosophy of place and the essence of what work means to each of us - whenever and wherever it happens.

With a series of regeneration projects underway, new communities are being formed and new spaces are being revived and re-imagined as destinations to live and work. With ambitious plans for sustainability and net zero, this session highlights the priorities and aims of these most significant developments.

Around the world, average office attendance is hovering around 40%. It’s becoming a problem for businesses and their facility managers. But what’s to be done? Designers know that lighting has a big impact on employee productivity and well-being. In this talk, Sony’s Lars-Gunnar Lundgren and Fagerhult’s Steve Shackleton consider how combining smart office technologies with organic response lighting could make a difference. Their thesis: when design is informed by data, we can create offices that are worth commuting to, and that enable employees to perform at their best.

22 Bishopsgate is a new, people-focused workplace destination, expected to accommodate a community of up to 12,000 residents and visitors, and a working assumption that it will normally operate with about 6000 personnel at any one time. This panel will discuss why 22 Bishopsgate is the workplace of choice, and how this people focused smart building can support the evolving needs and future aspirations of the diverse businesses and people that inhabit it.

With commitments to a net zero carbon future and cleaning up the air in the capital we must address emissions from transport and buildings that are contributing to the climate emergency and damaging our health. It is also vitally important that London adapts to the impacts of a changing climate, including the increased risk of flooding and overheating. This session looks at the future of cities from a developer, local authority and transport perspective and examines Paris's strategy for a 15 minute city.

As hybrid working changes the fundamental purpose of the office, a new report from Australian developer Mirvac challenges the standard efficiency-led measures that currently determine office rents. The session will question whether existing metrics around renting out office space remain fit for purpose in the aftermath of the global pandemic. Paul sets out the case for rethinking existing utilisation and valuation metrics in the context of the rise of hybrid and omni-channel working, which is catalysing the changing role of office space in an emerging landscape of choice and flexibility.

This session explores the key aspects that make better future workplaces with health, wellbeing and global community at the very heart. How can a workplace specify more sustainable materials in its interiors; how will it deliver better collaboration; and how, with 50% of team members being virtual, will it deliver better experience and collate more informative data.

Experience – now more than ever - plays a pivotal role in how people perceive an organisation from the outside, and how they work together on the inside. Adam begins by explaining what it is about the human mind that is drawn to the designed experience and then suggests a framework for creating these experiences in the workplace. Backed by historical and contemporary examples from the worlds of architecture, branding, fashion, music, art, sport and business.