The coming year will see a recalibration of the workplace, report suggests

WORKTECH Academy has published a new trends report setting out what it describes as the key forces reshaping work, workplace and workforce strategy in 2026. The report, The World of Work in 2026, claims to identify twenty trends grouped into four “megatrends”: Human Performance Reset, Workplaces Without Walls, Sustainable Growth and Back to Basics. Together, they suggest organisations are moving away from short-term fixes and “spectacle”, and towards building long-term resilience through adaptability and human capability.

A central theme is what WORKTECH Academy calls a shift “from productivity to performance”. The report argues that as AI takes on more routine execution, human contribution is increasingly defined by judgement, creativity and sense-making. In response, workplaces are expected to evolve from “productivity theatres” into environments designed to enhance performance, with a stronger emphasis on ergonomic design, “bio performance” and soft skills development.

The report also highlights the continued expansion of hybrid and distributed working models, describing “workplaces without walls” as the new normal. Rather than being anchored to fixed office assets, the workplace is framed as a more fluid ecosystem combining physical, digital and cultural experiences. Trends cited include modular “flat-pack” offices, outdoor working, AI-powered experience platforms and “bring-your-own-agent” models.

AI is positioned less as a standalone trend and more as an underlying infrastructure shaping multiple aspects of work. The report points to developments such as AI studios, multi-agent platforms and workplace experience orchestration, suggesting AI will become more embedded and collaborative, rather than “abstract and imposed”.

In a further shift, the report argues that “back to basics” factors such as belonging, stability and service quality will matter more to employees than high-cost office perks. It suggests that experience-as-a-service models will replace “amenity overload”, and that stable hybrid policies will prove more effective than volatile return-to-office mandates.

Jeremy Myerson, chairman of WORKTECH Academy, said the 20 trends collectively form “an early warning system” for organisations, including challenges such as managing “workslop” created by AI and the emergence of a “sky-blue collar” workforce combining hands-on roles with cloud-based work.

The report concludes by rejecting “sci-fi visions” of rapid transformation, arguing instead for a more incremental and responsible approach to the future of work, which it labels “the future mundane”.

WORKTECH Events, the sister company to WORKTECH Academy, is also set to expand its global conference series in 2026, with plans for more than 25 locations worldwide.