Shaping the future of work: industry leaders explore AI, skills and change at WOW26
Industry experts gather in London to examine how AI, technology and human capability are reshaping the workplace
The inaugural World of Work 2026 (WOW26) took place at London’s Tobacco Dock (23 September), bringing together leaders and experts from business, academia, behavioural science and technology to explore how organisations can navigate change and harness connected intelligence.
Hosted by MHR, a specialist provider of HR, payroll and finance software, the one-day event featured insights from LBS Professor of Finance Alex Edmans, behavioural science specialist and author Rory Sutherland, businessman and winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice Tim Campbell and Dr Jo Salter MBE, the UK’s first female fast-jet pilot.
Opening the event, Anton Roe, CEO of MHR, addressed the pressures facing organisations, from changing workforce expectations and tighter budgets to new technologies and the need for faster decision-making. “The question is how do we choose to respond and whether or not we are ready to lead.”
Roe highlighted AI as a fundamental shift in how work is organised and delivered: “At the centre of this change is AI. For decades, we have interacted with software in the same way, but it can now complete entire processes and that’s a fundamental shift. Tasks that usually sit inside today's jobs are becoming automated, while others will be redesigned. AI is changing the work people do, but not the value that people bring.”
On the Future of Work panel - Changemakers: Transformation through technology and people, Professor Edmans joined industry leaders to explore how organisations can empower individuals to drive innovation and change. “I work on two main areas relevant to the discussion, the value of cognitive diversity and the danger of biases and mistakes at the human level. Anybody in an organisation can be a changemaker. A changemaker is somebody who contributes to a climate, a culture where change is made and taken seriously, not necessarily the person who raises the change and raises the idea themselves.”
When asked by panel moderator and Applied Futurist Tom Cheesewright what organisations can do to give changemakers the greatest opportunity to make a difference, Professor Edmans outlined three essentials: Motive, Means and Opportunity. First, people need the motivation to be a changemaker, supported by a psychologically safe culture where they are encouraged to express their views and challenge the status quo. Second, they require the means, including cognitively diverse teams and access to information that enables them to question assumptions. Finally, they need the opportunity - sufficient time and different ways to contribute. Not everyone is comfortable thinking on their feet in a town-hall style meeting, while others are more effective in one-on-ones or through written communication.
Edmans concluded by highlighting a report he wrote in 2025 called Cognitive Diversity in Asset Management for Inclusion in Finance (formerly, The Diversity Project), which explores how organisations can benefit from greater diversity of thought. While the report was produced for the asset management sector, he stressed that its findings are relevant to any organisation seeking to improve how people think, challenge assumptions and make decisions - many of the themes reflected in the discussion at WOW26.
Following a full schedule of breakout sessions and panel discussions, the day closed with a call to action from the event host: “We don't have to wait for the future to decide how our work will change, we can actually shape the change ourselves.”
For more information on the World of Work 2026 (WOW26), visit Here