Sydney conference shapes up to explore Australia’s future workplace

WORKTECH Sydney 2023 is all set to present an action-packed agenda on 4 April at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There will be a key focus on taking a closer look at the factors that make hybrid working effective and enjoyable. Speakers include academics, property experts and company CEOs, all aiming to paint a picture of the Australian workplace of the future.

We take a look at some of the experts set to take to the stage:

Creating hybrid communities

How do you adapt to hybrid working at a university when for so many years in-person working has been the model for educational establishments? That’s the question that Alex Murphy, managing director of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Eoin Higgins, Head of Business Growth at Veldhoen + Company, aim to address in their discussion around how UTS has gone hybrid without compromising on its vibrant culture and opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Creating a community while working in a hybrid fashion may not seem easy, but this talk will lay out the process of transforming the university and discuss the outcomes in the hope that it will inspire others.

Unworking: the office of the future

Philip Ross, CEO of consultancy firm Unwork, will launch a book he has co-written with Professor Jeremy Myerson, titled Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office. He will take a whistlestop tour through the history of the office and analyse what habits, ways of thinking and attitudes we must unlearn in order to rebuild the modern office according to new requirements. As Philip Ross states, ‘Offices of the past help us reimagine offices of the future’. He will be highlighting the role of technology: ‘The consequences of digital disruption are profound. Only those organisations that embrace and become fluent in digital will survive. As the saying goes, companies will be digital predators or digital prey…’

Finding the balance

One-size-fits-all is an outdated notion when it comes to the workplace. In recent years we have all come to see that workplaces need to meet different needs and be flexible in order to offer the best experience. So why, when it comes to hybrid, are so many companies still pushing a one-size-fits-all agenda? Catherine Sullivant, from the property strategy and experience team at Telstra, and  Katherine Divett, CEO of Puzzle Partners, tackle this issue head-on in their talk about finding balance with hybrid working. They will discuss how embracing change and diversity can drive companies forward.

Human-centric leadership

The ability to foster connection, agility, authenticity and self-awareness are not qualities that very often appear on job adverts for leadership positions, but Gauri Bhalla from The School of Life will argue that they are exactly the qualities we need from workplace leaders in the modern world of work. Gone are the days of treating your employees like robots, instead we need leadership that appreciates their staff for who they are and encourages the humanity in us to shine.

Sydney’s future in focus

An expert panel will put Sydney under the microscope, asking the question: what will the future of Sydney’s workplace look like? With guests including Michael Rodrigues, Sydney’s 24-hour Economy Commissioner and Gry Kjær, Partner and Project Director of architecture firm 3XN, this session will take a look at the developments we can expect to see taking place in Sydney over the next few years.

Find out more about WORKTECH Sydney here.