As the dust begins to settle on the biggest shake-up in working practices for a generation, this presentation will focus on the current state of the art and emerging trends for the next year. Drawing on his new book, ‘Unworking', and insights and evidence from around the global WORKTECH Academy network, Jeremy Myerson will explore the growing divide between company leaders and their employees on flexible work. How can this rift be healed?

Indy presents a case for how the way we work and live is going through deep-code transformation at a speed and scale equivalent to the transition of World War. This keynote examines how, our very ideas of self, how we exist within the world, relate to it and each other is on the precipice of change that will affect everything - energy systems, material, food and nutrient systems — through to how we make decisions as societies in a complex, emergent world. This apex of transformation affects us and the way we use cities and work and will require us to radically reshape our habits.

2023 has seen the post pandemic workplace transition evolve around the themes of Hybrid Work, Smart Buildings and Sustainability. Cisco has been at the forefront of this transition delivering 5 deep retrofits of their offices globally and helping its customers to achieve success in many more. Sam shares the learnings from implementing these workplace strategies and the success achieved in “retrofitting smart” to older buildings, the outcomes in workplace experience, operational efficiency and energy savings. He explores ‘what next’ in the evolution from “Hybrid Work” to just ‘Work’.

The impact of workplace design on a firm's success goes beyond our initial assumptions, in fact the way people feel about the office is absolutely crucial now more than ever before. We will delve into the evolution of our perspective on an agile workplace and the invaluable lessons we've gathered about the relationship between design, emotions and business success.

From Spotify’s Distributed Experience and Work from Anywhere strategy to wholly Hybrid, this panel explores workplace leaders’ differing strategies examining proximity, productivity, and how it’s not where you work but how you work and the tools you use to achieve it. What do they think the next 18 months looks like? As hybrid working evolves, what role will workplace play in the emerging ecosystem? And now that many have returned to shared spaces, how we prepare for the next phase of our work evolution.

Today's world is challenging - we are all overloaded by all the information thrown at us and by the number of decisions we need to make in a day. It depletes our cognitive resources and that has biological consequences - reduced creativity, strategic thinking and collaboration skills such as listening and empathy. On top of that different personality types and cognitive profiles respond differently to change and to the speed of change in today’s digital and physical workplace - for some it's great news, whereas others are struggling.

This session examines strategies to emphasize age diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing in hybrid working. With the combination of population aging and changing workplace environments causing organizations to lose female leaders in record numbers (and with many women in leadership roles being in midlife or order), we share insights into creating supportive environments for women in this demographic. What are the unique obstacles faced? How can hybrid models help address these challenges? How can we build age-friendly, wellbeing-centered workplace experiences?

In this age of hybrid working, businesses crucially must understand how people are using the office in order to best optimise it. How can businesses keep teams connected, organized and ultimately enhance employee experience and productivity. Our expert panel will discuss emerging technologies and trends set to re-shape enterprise, addressing key themes of digital journey, space planning, workplace experience and the ultimate impact on ESG goals.

More speakers to be announced.

The never ending focus on efficiency, security & innovation is now fueled with generative AI tools bringing us now to the future of work. We are wholly conscious of Generative AI’s ability to transform the way we work across every industry and job role. Leaving science fiction stories and hypothetical scenarios as a thing of the past, this session examines the implications for organizations, how to define strategy and take action.

The common view of the metaverse is futuristic, and many think of digital environments focused on gaming and social networking. However, this picture is a small part of a greater whole, comprised of three distinct metaverses – consumer, enterprise and industrial – where the latter two will progress more quickly and provide tangible value, compared to the consumer metaverse. The industrial metaverse is a physical-digital fusion and human augmentation for industrial applications. Join us for a session where EY and Nokia will share insights on how companies have begun their metaverse journey.