Amid recurring disruptions, one constant now illuminates the world of work and workplace. This is a consistent line of travel towards flexible working, including its hybrid and remote variants, in the aftermath of the global pandemic. A significant majority of the workforce today express a desire for flexibility. More companies believe that supporting and enabling flexible work should be a priority. In this opening session, WORKTECH Academy director Jeremy Myerson draws on stories, data and evidence from around the global Academy network.

Claire 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.

Why do we have physical workspace when the pandemic proved its fine to work remotely? Why is there a need to go to the office? This session explores the new workplace purpose. Is work now much more about space to connect, exchange, celebrate, share, communicate, laugh, cry, ‘run into each other’ and have an ‘unplanned’ meeting. And, is all this a human need? Heiko will talk about space as a visible sign of identity and culture and explore how it has an impact on the way we behave and act.

This session explores the theme of The City as Headquarters.  It examines how urban structures impact our way of working and can function as unique backdrop to enhance brand´s presence in the city. How Nike used urban structures in its design approach, how they integrate local culture into their company´s set of values and how to uphold an in-person work culture through an innovatively layered workplace experience.

Delivering an optimal workplace experience for our people is a top priority for Roche. Following an extensive third party audit, they successfully achieve ISO 41001 (a global first for pharma and a large corporate). In doing so, they set standards worldwide, providing a common language and benchmark for best practice strategic, tactical and operational FM. Following an agile approach, the standards ensure ongoing and continuous improvement, and underpin Roche’s commitment to providing working environments that are efficient, effective, sustainable and inspiring.

This session explores the limits and opportunities offered by Circular Design in a contemporary workplace transformation project. It examines the bias and obstacles, the mindset and methodology and whether circularity and heritage are compatible. We explore these issues through a practical case study of an old military barracks into a new K-Haus centre dedicated to cultural, civic and social enterprises.

Global pharmaceutical company Novartis is on a mission to reimagine medicine. Central to achieving this is empowering Novartis’s 110,000 employees to be creative and innovative with a culture that allows workers to thrive. Sascha shares insights into how Novartis has brought this culture to life and created a working environment to enable staff to make breakthrough innovations and transform the future of medicine. He shares how workplace needs to centre around workflow, workstyle, design and technology which need to be combined in the best possible way.

In the age of the “anywhere office”, technology will play a more vital role than ever. It is now crucial for businesses to understand how people are using workspaces and implement technologies that will keep teams connected, organized, safe and ultimately enhance their experience and productivity. Our expert panel shares how some of the largest and most innovative global companies revolutionise how they use technology and how they attract and retain talent.  

Adapting the physical environment to align with new ways of working and a sustainable, agile & digital-first workplace. Focusing on a people-first approach to diverse, equitable, and inclusive office design. Brian explores they are leading the way to build a diverse equitable inclusive environment for hybrid working.  This session outlines how the program began in 2018 and how they have been leading and designing cultural and work-style adaptations within the organization from physical environment, technology, and soft management skills deployment.

There is an opportunity to rethink the relationship between people and space with a view toward a more people centric approach for a new workplace space model. The workplace has the potential to be more than a place to only perform activities but also to be inclusive environment to accommodate for globally diverse users and provide equity for everyone that chooses to use it.

Working with Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), Carlo Ratti Associates new research around communication patterns in remote working reveals how bringing people together from different backgrounds can create innovation. Luca explores whether online working prevents serendipitous conversations and constrains innovation; whether the future of working is, at least in part, in the office; and also reveals patterns in behaviour needed to create the effective office of the future

Industry experts discuss shifts to more data-driven approaches to workplace design, collaborations across hybrid teams, and the evolving priorities of leaders within the industry. How is the life science industry responding to the future of work in the long-term? And what can we learn from these large organisations about how to create cohesive teams across different geographical locations? 

This unconventional keynote discusses everything from sex and drugs to happy hormones and designing spaces for each unique individual. Now the Co-Founder of Smart Building Collective, Elizabeth is bringing a diverse group of experts to help move the evolution of smart buildings forward. Smart has the ability to help create creative solutions from data to make our buildings more functional, sustainable, cost effective and healthier, more collaborative spaces for the people inside.