The Future of Work

This week, the First World Congress on the Future of Work brought executives together to take an integrative, proactive look at the strategic management of people, technology, and facilities assets.

Delegates included 85 high-level decision makers in the HR, IT, and operations fields as well as government, education, and non-profit sector leaders. The invitation-only congress was put together by membership organization Future of Work and aimed to 1) find common ground between HR, IT, and facilities leaders 2) examine how knowlege work, creativity, and collaboration are changing the workforce and 3) better prepare organizations for the future by getting the groups to work together.

A Declaration of Independence signed by participants attempts to create a new community of interest, define its charter, and issue a public call for action.

The work-in-progress document "defines a set of design principles that will enable organizations to make the vision of the future of work real in their organizations." Delegates agreed to

*uphold and promote interdependence and collaboration through mutual consideration and respect among all stakeholders

*champion these principles of action in our firms, professional organizations, and the communities where we live

* strive in concert with others to discourage all animosities and resolve all conflicts arising from our differences in perspective

* actively encourage all those with whom we interact to join with us in promoting our vision of a more collaborative, more productive, and more satisfying way of life in all we do.

More resources are available on the conference Website, including an event Weblog. The postings on that are thin, but more information may be added after the conference wraps up.