Worktech Academy, the online knowledge platform and membership network exploring the future of work and the workplace, has issued a trends report identifying the forces reshaping work, workplace and workforce strategy in the year ahead.
Drawing on insights from its global network, the report outlines 20 critical trends organised into four overarching megatrends: Human Performance Reset, Workplaces Without Walls, Sustainable Growth, and Back to Basics.
Together, they position 2026 as a year of recalibration, where organisations prioritise human capability, adaptability and long-term resilience over speed, spectacle or short-term gains. Download the report here.
From Productivity to Performance: A Human Performance Reset Offices are shifting from productivity theatres to performance enhancers. As AI automates execution, human value moves decisively towards judgement, creativity and sense-making. Organisations are redesigning workplaces around bio performance, ergonomic integrity and soft skills as core capabilities.
Workplaces Without Walls Become the New Normal The workplace is evolving into a fluid ecosystem where physical, digital and cultural experiences blend. Modular ‘flat-pack’ offices, outdoor working, AI-powered experience engines and bring-your-own-agent models reflect the shift from fixed assets to adaptive systems.
AI Moves from Tool to Infrastructure AI no longer appears as a standalone megatrend but as a foundational layer across work. From AI studios and multi-agent platforms to experience orchestration, AI is becoming embedded, visible and collaborative rather than abstract and imposed.
Back to Basics: Belonging, Stability and Service Matter More Than Perks As lavish amenities retreat, the report finds that belonging, service quality and job security are the real drivers of return to office. Experience-as-a-service models replace amenity overload, while stable hybrid policies outperform volatile mandates.
The Future Will Be Incremental, Not Spectacular Rejecting sci-fi visions of overnight transformation, the report closes with ‘The Future Mundane’: a call for more nuanced, responsible and human-centred approaches to predicting, and designing, the future of work.
In 2026, Worktech Events is bringing its global conference series to 25+ locations, traversing the globe from Sydney to New York, Berlin to London and Singapore to Santiago de Chile. The conferences will explore the critical topics and trends shaping the future of work and workplace intelligence through expert-led sessions, interactive workshops, technology showcases and peer-led discussions to equip businesses with the tools to stay agile and prepared for evolving work trends. Download the WORKTECH Events 2026 calendar here.