The RTO (return to office) drumbeat continues, with Starbucks, the latest enterprise to order office workers back on site for an additional day per week, and more workers required to move to corporate hub cities of Seattle and Toronto. The company’s CEO clearly thinks he has the leverage now, with an implied take-it-or-leave-it suggestion that, “updated in-office culture may not work for everyone.”
Right after the pandemic ended, the RTO pendulum seemed in constant motion, with RTO mandates being issued only to be revoked, postponed, or quietly ignored. As a result, the discussion in our industry about the impact of RTO seemed to stagnate, and the topic became somewhat tired. But the whole workplace-of-the-future issue is getting new energy from the ramped-up RTO pushes, along with developments in AI that are transforming the workplace in ways that hadn’t yet emerged in the immediate wake of the pandemic.
That’s why the future of the workforce will be one of our 5 tracks and areas of key focus at Enterprise Connect 2026 – obviously, from the perspective of how these developments impact IT/communications pros. And what are some of those impacts?
People returning to offices means more conference room use, which means a need for better technology in those rooms and better scheduling software to optimize their utilization. Meeting room video and audio technology has been, if not commoditizing, at least democratizing. Top-shelf AV may still require high-end hardware and support, but the basic video bar is becoming a workhorse, while AI-driven improvements are improving both audio/visual quality as well as the viewing experience for participants on the remote end of the meeting room connection, who get better framing that improves meeting equity.
But AI is also changing the work experience itself, and specifically the experience of communicating at work. The issues include:
- Productivity: Is AI making our workers more productive, and how do we know? Many of the promised productivity gains are meant to be achieved through use of communications tools that purport to make meetings more efficient, allowing people to re-allocate their time. So how do enterprises translate this aspiration into a reality, and how do they measure it (or do they need to)?
- Workplace Compliance: Some of the AI compliance issue has to do with IT administration: Who gets access to what capabilities and data via the various AI systems, and how does IT control that access? But some of the issue is HR-related: If you eventually have an AI agent or avatar communicating with internal and external contacts, what are the ground rules for how these elements – which are meant to emulate human behavior on some level – “behave”? And how does IT implement these constraints?
- Collaboration software increasingly integrates with scheduling, office planning, and facilities systems to improve usage of office space. How does this change the basic purpose of the office, and the way people use spaces and technology there? What kinds of guard rails are necessary to avoid inappropriate tracking of individuals?
- What can AI do to improve accessibility and ease-of-use for disabled employees, both in the office and working remotely? The pandemic-driven move to all-remote work had one unforeseen benefit – it gave disabled workers more access, on a more equal playing field, than they’d ever had before. Can AI help drive this benefit in a world where most workers are expected to report to the office?
So Future of Work 1.0 may have petered out sometime in 2023 or thereabouts, but as AI resets expectations and threatens many job categories, enterprises will be forced to tackle Future of Work 2.0. IT/communications/CX technology will be a critical part of the next wave.
Stay Ahead with Enterprise Connect
Enterprise Connect is your premier destination for staying ahead in enterprise collaboration and CX. What role will AI play in shaping the future of enterprise communications? The answer is that AI will undoubtedly have a significant impact, but as always, our event goes beyond just AI. We aim to place AI in the broader context of the many challenges and opportunities enterprise collaboration and CX professionals navigate daily.
Our mission is to equip you, as an enterprise leader, with essential tools and actionable insights to craft a strategy tailored to your organization's unique needs. Alongside a deep dive into AI, our comprehensive program includes dedicated tracks on AV/Video, Collaboration Platforms/Unified Communications, CPaaS & Programmable Communications, CX/Contact Center, and Security/Compliance.
We’re also excited to offer a Strategy & Management track, focusing on real-world applications and solutions. Most sessions in this track are case study discussions led by enterprise leaders, providing unparalleled opportunities to learn from and connect with your peers.