Worklife proves the future of the workplace is strong

Our 2015 WorkLife programme was huge this year, with 37 speakers across nine panels addressing our theme ‘The Future of the Workplace’, which spanned topics like the impact of lighting on workers’ circadian rhythms, and whether employers have a moral right to manipulate workers into healthier work practices.

For the first time, the discussions were also CPD accredited by the Australian Institute of Architects, underscoring their relevance and value to current industry practitioners.

With a number of sell-out sessions, audience response was strong, and engaged Q+A’s at the end of discussions provided ample opportunity for attendees to delve into specific topics of interest.

Some specific highlights include both the Interface and Living Edge with Herman Miller iterations of ‘What’s Beyond ABW?’ where overflowing crowds accompanied robust debate on what the future of workplace design holds.

Veldhoen consultancy’s Gijs Nooteboom led the charge against superficial adoption of ABW in Australian workplaces, criticising designers for allowing the principle to be diluted into little more than an aesthetic trend, while dwp | suters’ Steve Pearse urged architects to view cityscapes as extensions of the workplace.

We would like to thank all of our Worklife speakers, including Scott Whittaker, Nigel Hobbs, David Smith, Andrew Cortese, Max Davies, Chris Field, Tim Carr, Natalie Slessor, Fiona Venn, Andy Hoyne, Gavin Harris, James Calder, Roy Green, David Rolls, Jacqui Esdaile, Samantha Giam, Stephen Pearse, Andrew Pettifer, Carol Ann Pickvance, Chip DeGrace, Gijs Nooteboom, Kellie Payne, Jeremy Pollak, Peter McCamley, Brent Harman, Heidi Smith, Joaquim Pedro, Duncan Young, Alex Hopkins, Ingrid Kelly, Emrah Baki Ulas, Megan Divett.

Here is some great feedback that we received.

“Indesign’s WorkLife forum ‘It takes All Kinds’ was stimulating and informative. We had the opportunity to explore diversity at the workplace and what it means for different people and changing contexts. In particular, it was useful to understand the importance of the physical environment for the implementation of workplace strategies.” – Roy Green, Dean of UTS Business School

“Being part of the panel discussion for ‘F&B – What’s Beyond Fridge and Biscuits‘ at Sydney Indesign was fabulous. The group of selected speakers all have diverse backgrounds which provided a rigorous discussion around the topic of wellness in the workplace. To have the opportunity to share our thoughts and also hear about  the experiences and learnings of other professionals in the industry was invaluable.” – Alex Hopkins, Tate Design

If you have any feedback, topic suggestions or expressions of interest, please don’t hesitate to let us know, as we are well underway planning for next year’s 2016 event (indesign@indesign.com.au, habitus@indesign.com.au, dq@indesign.com.au).