August 13, 2026 —Where is the workplace going? That’s the question on every FM’s mind. Where to get the intel on where it’s going? That appears to be World Workplace in Anaheim, California, November 18-20. The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the sponsor of WW 2026, will certainly make it worth the time out of the office. Cleverly, IFMA provides ways to convince your boss to attend through a supervisor justification letter.
When you attend World Workplace, presented by IFMA, every education session is an opportunity to gain new insights, discover innovative ideas and bring practical solutions back to your organization. That’s why World Workplace 2026 is introducing a new track-based education experience designed to help you find the content most relevant to your goals and create a personalized learning journey throughout the conference. There are eight curated tracks: Connected Buildings; Digital Futures: Facility Fusion; Leading Change; Facility Operations; Resilient Facilities; Future Workplaces; World Workplace Live; and Partner Perspectives. FMLink’s editors plan on attending sessions across the tracks that are defined here.
Facility Tours in the Anaheim region are guided by managers who run them. They include:
- The Anaheim Convention Center, a LEED-certified, 1.8-million-sq-ft facility comprised of over 1 million sq ft of exhibit space, a 7,500-seat arena, 94 meeting rooms totaling 352,000 sq ft, 138,000 sq ft of ballroom space (one at 38,000 sq ft, another at 100,000 sq ft), 176,000 sq ft of pre-function lobby space, and over 200,000 sq ft of outdoor event space.
- Park Place Irvine, a 2.1-million-square-foot, campus-style office environment set within a 105-acre mixed-use development in the heart of the Irvine Business District. What sets Park Place apart is its rare combination of scale, open-air design and centralized infrastructure — most notably, a single central plant serving multiple building types across the campus.
- The Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) is a striking architectural landmark and transportation hub located in Anaheim, California. Known for its iconic curved steel-and-glass structure, ARTIC serves as a gateway to Orange County, connecting travelers to regional rail, bus, shuttle and transportation services.
Fans of the TV comedy The Office will be delighted to learn the keynote speaker is B.J. Novak, who portrayed Ryan Howard at Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. In a moderated conversation, comedian, author and The Office star B.J. Novak will sit down with IFMA host Eddy Wagoner to share the stories, surprises and creative breakthroughs that have defined his career. From the chaos of live television to the spaces where great ideas are born, Novak’s insights on collaboration, adaptability and finding humor in the everyday will resonate with facility management professionals who know better than anyone that the workplace is never just a building — it’s where culture lives.
Heading to the Anaheim Convention Center, a major focus this year is the practical application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the built environment. Expect to learn about next-generation tech, including tools like AI plug-ins for OpenBlue Workplace (such as “Ask FM”). These technologies allow teams to use conversational AI to quickly fetch space utilization metrics, predict maintenance issues, and parse complex facility data governance guidelines.
With hybrid workplace models fully solidified, sessions will move past the “how-to-manage” phase and focus on advanced space optimization. Key discussions will center on Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) and Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) modernization — helping companies accurately right-size their real estate portfolios using real-time spatial analytics.
Facility managers also go to the conference for career development to get best practices, valuable takeaways and thought leadership from industry experts from around the world. The exposition offers products and services to improve and transform your facilities. Attendees can connect one-on-one with leading companies in every category of FM solutions. Product demos and educational sessions demonstrate the latest tools and tech. Networking is a huge part of WW, with happy hours, social events, 1:1 meetings and connecting with FMs from around the globe.
Click here for all the World Workplace Anaheim details and registration.
