Forefront Workplace Community

📢 It's that time of year again! 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗚𝗬 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞! Join us in Sydney on September 12th for A/NZ's exclusive workplace gathering for the 7th consecutive year. 🎫 Grab your ticket and check out the agenda HERE: https://lnkd.in/gfrfjuh3 Check out the 2024 speakers: Doug Hall, Principal of Property, Fleet, Assets & Transaction Management, Telstra Ed Jacka, Deputy Head of Workplace, Reserve Bank Australia Lisa Britz, Director of Design Strategy, LinkedIn USA Iva Durakovic, Researcher & Lecturer of Interior Architecture, School of Built Environment, UNSW Tony Hall, Vice President Property, Worley Jane Frewen, Director of Facilities Management, Woolworths Robert Garrett, Senior Workplace Change Manager, Perpetual Limited James Moffat, Director of Workplace & Property, NSW Department of Customer Service  Tom McNamara, Global Lead of Space Creation, Canva Jake Mascarenhas, Senior Program Manager - Global Real Estate Strategy, Design & Development, Atlassian Genevieve Wardell, Regional Workplace Manager APJ, Okta Alana Divan, Manager of Property Services, Insignia Financial Brandon DeWitt (he/him), Senior Director - Head of Workplace Strategy & Integration, Genentech USA Dr. Agustin Chevez, Workplace Provocateur, Architect & Researcher, aChevez Advisory, University of Melbourne Thank you to our event partners: Aspect Furniture, M Moser Associates, Zenith, Mirvac, XY Sense, HID, KREMA, VergeSense #workplacestrategy #workplace #workplacewellbeing #workplacedesign #WorkplaceSummit24 #ForfrontWorkplaceCommunity #workplaceconference

📰 In the ongoing dialogue about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, one crucial yet often neglected component is the significant link between DEI and mental health. This connection is especially important in regions like Asia, where mental health topics are still frequently stigmatised. Addressing the intersection of DEI and mental health is essential for fostering a truly inclusive and supportive work environment. Overlooking this relationship not only limits the potential impact of DEI initiatives but also neglects the positive influence a nurturing workplace culture can have on the mental wellbeing of every employee. Embracing and enhancing this interconnectedness is key to creating a workplace that values diversity and actively promotes the mental health of its entire workforce 🗞️ Read more below on the strategies to promote mental health in DEI initiatives. #workplacewellbeing #DEI #workplacediversity #workplaceinclusion #forefrontworkplacecommunity

📰 Medibank is expanding its four-day work week trial, doubling the number of participants from 250 to 500 employees. The expanded trial will continue to be monitored by the Health and Wellbeing Research Unit (HoWRU) at Macquarie University’s Business School. Medibank’s initiative is part of its broader “work. reinvented” program, aimed at increasing workplace flexibility and challenging traditional working models. The four-day work week trial follows a 100:80:100 approach, allowing employees to maintain 100% of their pay while reducing their working hours by 20%, with the expectation that productivity remains unchanged. Kylie Bishop, Medibank’s group lead for people, spaces and sustainability, said the expansion follows a six-month trial that showed improvements in employee wellbeing, satisfaction, and productivity. “We’ve seen significant and sustained improvements in employee engagement, job satisfaction, and the health and wellbeing of participants while maintaining business performance and customer outcomes,” she said. 🗞 Read more on this below. #workplacewellbeing #ForefrontWorkplaceCommunity #employeewellbeing #fourdayworkweek

Australia’s bosses are calling an end to the flexible workplace, with a KPMG chief executive survey showing that 82 percent of respondents expect white-collar workers to be back in the office five days a week in three years. This was up from just 66 percent in last year’s survey, but the same proportion of chief executive respondents – 78 percent – said they would reward office-based employees with pay rises and promotions. This month, Tabcorp chief Gillon McLachlan joined the tide of bosses ordering staff back into the office with a directive to his 1000 employees that the default position is that they come in. “This is a really important step-change – we are resetting Tabcorp,” he said in an email to staff. “Having us together as a team, focused and driving towards our goals, will deliver outcomes and success. Being connected as a team also drives a winning culture and supports us to collaborate and achieve our best.” But there is one interesting naysayer. KPMG Australia boss Andrew J Yates is not among those predicting an end to the flexible workplace – and certainly not for his workers. We would love to hear our workplace community's thoughts on the future of WFH in the comments below ⬇

Looking forward to joining a panel discussion on “Optimising Digital Workplace Efficiency through Platform Consolidation & Standardised Practices” alongside Marc Pelusi and Heather McDermott. Additionally, I’ll be leading a roundtable on Digital Workplace Governance, focusing on how to get started and navigate common challenges. A huge thank you to Forefront Events for organizing this fantastic event and Aurecon for the support. There’s still time to register if you want to join us: https://lnkd.in/eW3--rxs Looking forward to insightful conversations and valuable connections! #Digitalworkplace #governance #forefrontevents #digitalworkplacesummit

📸 The Workplace Strategy Summit NSW 2024. An inspiring and educational day at yesterday's summit! Thank you to all the incredible speakers for sharing their insights into the future of workplace strategy and real estate transformation. We are also deeply grateful to our sponsors for making this event possible. Your support allowed us to explore cutting-edge solutions and best practices that will shape the future of workspaces and employee engagement. Thank you to our speakers: Jamie Toko, Portfolio Manager, Mirvac Doug Hall, Principal of Property, Fleet, Assets & Transaction Management, Telstra Ed Jacka, Deputy Head of Workplace, Reserve Bank Australia Iva Durakovic, Researcher & Lecturer of Interior Architecture, School of Built Environment, UNSW Sonja Duric, Director, Hames Sharley Irena Bakulic, Head of Property, Allianz Emma Rousek, National Manager, Marketing & Customer, Office & Industrial Asset Management, Mirvac Kris Shaw, Head of Services, Florence Guil Steve Gale, Head of Technology Strategy, M Moser Associates  Tony Hall, Vice President Property, Worley Lisa Harries, Head of Real Estate & Planning, NewsCorp Arthur Begetis, Global Head of Real Estate, ResMed Robert Garrett, Senior Workplace Change Manager, Perpetual Limited Shauna Lore, Senior Workplace Experience Specialist, Pager Duty Jared Horstman, APAC Commercial Manager, XY Sense Tom McNamara, Global Lead of Space Creation, Canva Jake Mascarenhas, Senior Program Manager - Global Real Estate Strategy, Design & Development, Atlassian Genevieve Wardell, Regional Workplace Manager APJ, Okta Alana Divan, Manager of Property Services, Insignia Financial Brandon DeWitt (he/him), Senior Director - Head of Workplace Strategy & Integration, Genentech USA Dr. Agustin Chevez, Workplace Provocateur, Architect & Researcher, aChevez Advisory, University of Melbourne Thank you to our event partners: Aspect Furniture, M Moser Associates, Zenith, Mirvac, XY Sense, HID, KREMA, VergeSense, Hames Sharley #workplacestrategy #workplace #workplacewellbeing #workplacedesign #WorkplaceSummit24 #ForfrontWorkplaceCommunity #workplaceconference

What a turn out!! 🔥 A/NZ’s exclusive workplace gathering has just kicked off in Sydney this morning - The Workplace Strategy Summit NSW 2024. We are stepping up and checking in at today’s event as we support STEPtember and we mark R U OK? Day, making sure that today and every day you make the effort to check in on your friends and colleagues. 💛 Make sure to follow this page to get key takeaways from today as well as more photos from what’s to come. #WorkplaceSummit24 #ForefrontWorkplaceCommunity

⏱ 6 weeks to go until the sold-out 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗡𝗦𝗪. ANZ's exclusive workplace gathering for the seventh consecutive year. Check out this year's agenda here: https://lnkd.in/gQVqdsGB Looking forward to hearing for our speaker line-up: Caoimhe Mulhall, Head of Technology - Corporate Systems, The Lottery Corporation Oliver Sebastian, Director of Information Technology (CIO), Landcom Dean Jackson, Director, Global P&C Digital Experience, Coca Cola Europacific Partners Pankaj Arya, Domain Lead Employee Experience, ANZ Bank Andrew Bakhsh, Head of IT, Australia, GenesisCare Jun R., Head of Solution Design and Delivery, NSW Health Janis Dunnicliff, Head of Technology, Enterprise & Digital Legal, Westpac Ryder Hampton, Head of Technology Foundational Services and Digital Workplace, Pepper Money Heather McDermott, Head of PMO-IT, Bingo Industries James Simpson, Chief Technology Officer, SafetyCulture Thank you to our event partners: Lenovo, Whatfix, Iron Mountain, ASI Solutions, Pack of 7 Australia, Powell Software, ClickUp/Baidam Pty Ltd #workplace #digitalworkplace #digiworkplace #ForefrontDigitalCommunity #workplacetechnology

A tighter job market is shifting the balance of power from workers to employers. Some are flexing it by asking staff to return to the office a few days a week but others are taking it further by enforcing full-time attendance. Research by recruitment agency Robert Half found 39% of workers are being forced to work in the office five days a week — up from 19% in 2023. "The pendulum is swinging back to pre-pandemic levels when working from home was an anomaly rather than an expectation," Director of Robert Half Australia Nicole Gorton says. "Mandated office days can be beneficial for collaboration, problem solving and team building, but if poorly executed, can breed resentment and disengagement among some staff," she says. Leadership and culture expert Alexis Zahner says research shows office policies do not guarantee better business results. "In fact, it may actually be detrimental to both business outcomes and individual health and wellbeing," she writes on LinkedIn. 🗞 Read more on this below. #returntooffice #workfromhome #workplace #ForefrontWorkplaceCommunity

Whether we are currently in the office or not, corporate identity is expressed through workspace design. Check out the latest trends in workspace architecture from across the globe. #workplacedesign #workplace #workplacearchitecture #forefrontworkplacecommunity