This year’s theme is “Navigating the Next Normal with a Human-First and Purpose-Driven FoW Strategy”, and we will be focusing on four core FoW initiatives: the hybrid workplace, the augmented workforce, organizational agility, and leading with empathy. We believe these four areas are profoundly transforming the way we work and are pivotal for the success of a company’s digital journey.​

We are at an inflexion point in history. Uncertainty, rapid change and disruption are becoming patterns of our new reality, and the models and assumptions of the past are no longer valid to build our future (quoting Einstein: “don’t use old maps to explore the new world”). Whilst digital transformation is positioned as the panacea for success, this approach leaves out two fundamental core components: on the one hand, that “humans” are the engine behind any digital change; on the other hand, that a “purpose-driven organization” is the vision and ultimate goal of everything, a company’s North Star. They’re vital for business resiliency and growth, and they’re the anchor of a Future of Work Strategy.​

 To succeed in the Future of Work, or the new paradigm of work, companies need to effectively address the following questions: how to manage and secure a distributed workforce in a hybrid working environment? How automation and intelligent technologies will augment employees and create new business value? How can organizations quickly adapt and respond to change? And, finally, and most importantly, what are the traits of a good leader? These and other questions will be addressed at our Future of Work IDC Digital event.