NWX22: A celebration of corporate culture

For once, on June 20, 2022, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, the prestigious building for "high culture," belonged entirely to the HR world: The fifth New Work Experience, or NWX22 for short, attracted around 2,000 visitors to the banks of the Elbe. As a meeting place for the New Work community from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it took place this year under the motto "Celebrating Work // Pioneering Culture". The line-up of more than 100 speakers provided a total of 14 hours of programming in various formats ranging from discussions and keynotes to small-scale sessions. As a result, NWX22 may have been the largest networking event in the German-speaking world to date for the HR world. "The corporate culture revolution is in full swing. So much inspiration and expertise on the future of work has not been gathered in one place for a long time," said Petra von Strombeck, CEO of the New Work SEthe operator of the online network Xing and the employer rating platform kununu, and the event's organizer.

The "Great Resignation

It was by no means a "self-congratulation event" for the HRM industry. On the contrary, NWX22 was able to highlight the major challenges that employers and employees are currently facing. The fact alone that at the beginning of 2022, around 37 percent of employees in the German-speaking world were thinking out loud about changing jobs and then actually doing so must make companies sit up and take notice. The main reason for this wave of resignations, the "Great Resignation," is seen as the increasing lack of corporate culture. But the all-encompassing answer to the question "How do I create a working world I like?" does not yet seem to have been found. The fact that all that glitters is far from gold when it comes to "New Work" came to light more than once in presentations and panel discussions.

Work less, but (have to) work longer?

Philosopher Richard David Precht, for example, put his finger on the sore points in the current working world. He noted that the topic of "new work" has now become relevant not only for the "upper third of society," but for everyone. "We are experiencing the end of work as we knew it. We are evolving from a work society to a society of meaning. In the past, it was only reserved for the aristocracy to do what they really wanted to do. Today, everyone is allowed to do that," says Precht. With reference to the increasing automation of work and the criticism of the same, Precht also became clear: "We have now arrived at a state like in the GDR, where work preservation is more important than productivity." Precht also locates a contradiction in the current discussions surrounding the safeguarding of pension systems. In Germany, as in Switzerland, there is talk of raising the retirement age in connection with pension reform. However, technological progress means that we should actually be working less and less - in some companies, the four-day week is even already a reality. "Should we artificially work more to safeguard the pension systems?" wondered Richard David Precht. His proposed solution to this dilemma: tax machines and introduce an unconditional basic income.

Sense and nonsense of "Purpose  

Corporate anthropologist Jitske Kramer also wowed guests with her keynote on "Work has left the building" - and the changes brought about by the "Corona culture shock." She believes that the foundation in the relationship between employers and employees needs to be rebuilt. Not only was the keynote by psychologist and best-selling author Stefanie Stahl about creating meaning in the job, but also the panel "Too much nonsense with meaning? The Value of Purpose in Work" with Petra von Strombeck (New Work SE), Petra Scharner-Wolff (Otto Group), Prof. Dr. Ingo Hamm (business psychologist at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and author of the book "Sinnlos glücklich") and Prof. Dr. Heike Bruch from the University of St.Gallen. Ingo Hamm critically questioned the concept of "purpose," especially the much-cited "corporate purposes" à la "We move you" or "Connecting People." Rather, he said, the moral and psychological side of purpose should also be discussed. According to Hamm, it should be morally permissible to work against company principles if this results in a higher meaning.

Traditional vs. modern work   

The participants in the panel "How much 'new' does work need?", in which Trigema CEO Wolfgang Grupp met with work researcher Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump and Nina Zimmermann, CEO of kununu, were extremely eager for discussion. While for the successful old-school entrepreneur it is primarily traditional values and rules that make for an attractive corporate culture and he values formal interaction, the positions of Nina Zimmermann and Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump could not have been more contrary. "Employees today want to have a say more than ever. No one wants to be told what he or she has to do anymore," says Nina Zimmermann. Jutta Rump, on the other hand, sees the future of leadership no longer in the role of individuals, but in teams.

In addition, committed participants discussed concrete practical topics of the working world in more than 40 sessions - how do companies get good employees faster (New Hiring), how do they retain talent longer (Employee Engagement)? What is good leadership in a world of uncertainty? And how do job seekers find companies that are a good cultural fit for them?

However, the program not only included questions that are currently being hotly debated in the world of work, but also a look beyond the end of one's nose. Thus, the monk and leading master of the "Shaolin Temple Europe" Shi Heng Yi explained in his lecture the meaning and behavior of Buddhist philosophy for people in today's working world. And Tatjana Kiel (co-founder #WeAreAllUkrainians) spoke with Markus Diekmann (founder of Job Aid Ukraine) about the aid work with people in and from Ukraine.

Capitulation to the future?

Fortunately, the war in Ukraine did not remain the dominant topic at NWX22, but the fact that two European countries are waging a conflict against each other by force of arms still shone through from time to time. Richard David Precht, for example, was optimistic that this war would not succeed in stopping our values and progress in technology and society. On the other hand, the remarks of Thomas Sattelberger, member of the German Bundestag for the Bavarian FDP, could be understood as a counterpoint. He spoke of the beginning of a new Cold War ("Cold War 2.0") and the danger that Maslow's pyramid will be reversed: Instead of self-fulfillment, the focus in the future will once again be on simply securing existential needs.

Thinking about the future is important and also necessary. Futurist Ben Hammersley is convinced of this. In his keynote speech, he noted that today's models for the future, which can be depicted in exponential curves, no longer work. Even discussions around pro or contra home office, digitalization, AI and the like would go in circles because it has become impossible to think about the future with previous patterns. "We can't go back to the past, we have to start over," Hammersley said. "Re-invent the future," was his message. One or the other listener may have wondered at this vote: Is even a futurist capitulating to the future here?

NWX22: Work is culture - culture is work

One thing is certain, however - and this is the conclusion of NWX22: The future of work begins now. Those who do not proactively face up to the changes will lose out. Many challenges will not be overcome with patent remedies. Nevertheless, the event offered many opportunities to "celebrate work", true to the motto "Celebrating Work". Numerous live musical acts, such as the Hamburg electropop band Hundreds, the Cologne surf pop band Planschemalöör or the star pianist Alexander Krichel with his interpretation of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", provided the right atmosphere. This also made it possible to return to the venue: the Elbphilharmonie as a temple of culture - even if for once it was mainly about corporate culture(s).