The future of work
Employers are grappling with decisions about the future of work and workplaces. On the one hand, some employers are calling for workforces to return to physical spaces, to foster collaboration and productivity. On the other hand, many employees are reluctant to return to pre-pandemic work patterns, having enjoyed the benefits of less commuting and improved work-life balance.
It’s time to understand the implications of targeted attacks against critical utilities and infrastructure and take action. Boards and senior leaders are responsible for protecting New Zealand communities and must act intentionally to safeguard our places, spaces and people. For leaders unsure of their cyber risks and vulnerabilities, now is the time to ask questions.
The next five years will see New Zealand’s water industry fundamentally change in the way it operates. The growing regulatory focus on large infrastructure is set to drive the next wave of cybersecurity changes. With Australia leading the way in operation technology cybersecurity, strengthened guidelines or legislation updates are likely on New Zealand’s periphery.
If we consider the Australian journey as an example, the four-year gap between the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 and the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Act 2022 gave Australian organisations time to step-up. And today, the risk management practices of critical infrastructure providers in Australia have never been stricter. The time is now for New Zealand to prepare for the equivalent and review risks before it becomes a mandated requirement.
While this white paper takes a global lens, it remains relevant to New Zealand’s evolving cyber landscape. We anticipate radical shifts, including regulations and heightened public scrutiny, which demands new approaches and solutions. Among the myriad of risks is the shift of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems to virtualised web-based platforms, introducing the inherent risk of technology change.
Although New Zealand has made progress in its cyber maturity, work remains and must happen soon. Leaders must put the risks and vulnerabilities under a microscope and cybersecurity must be holistically integrated into operation strategy and company ethos.
Reimagining our relationship with the CBD
When asking employees to return to the workplace, often the question is: what value is there to be gained from working in an office versus working from home? On the surface, the answer to this would seem weighted towards the home environment, which offers improved privacy and flexibility, in comparison to many modern open-plan offices. A better question to ask, then, is how can we provide meaningful and desirable experiences in the workplace that employees simply can’t get at home?
The unique appeal of the CBD as a drawcard to workers may provide the answer. The CBD represents an ecosystem of experiences, from the intimate and fine-grain, to large-scale and civic-minded. Thinking of the office not just as a workspace but as a microcosm of a broader CBD community, and of the city centre as an aggregator of unique experiences, may shift the mindset of employees reluctant to return to the office.
The CBDs of the future will emphasise culture, sports, music and arts events as key attractors that cannot be replicated, at the same scale, in the suburbs (and certainly not at home).
By better connecting workers to the unique experiences offered by the city, employers can offer creative incentives, working with cultural institutions to curate and ‘package’ experiences with an employee’s visit to the office. For example, employers could arrange for a day in the office to be topped off with an evening at an art gallery, a comedy show or a sporting event.