CHIWORK 2024, June 25-27, 2024, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

Conversations is an exciting new session format aimed at bringing exposure to exciting and provoking ideas, along with showcasing existing work. Inspired by the format of Conversations with which CHIWORK first started, the track gives the CHIWORK community an opportunity to join a conversation highlighting key ideas, technologies or studies related to the future of work.

We solicit submissions that showcase already published work, either a single paper or a body of work, or original ideas/provocations that can stimulate a discussion and are related to the topic of the conference. Contribution types can range from a number of disciplines and perspectives, including the humanities, social sciences, computing, and engineering, 

Selected Conversation authors will be presenting at the conference in stimulating panel-like discussions with the Conversations Chairs. 

All submissions in this track are Non-Archival, thus authors may re-use and re-submit the content to other peer-reviewed venues. Papers will be selected by the chairs using a single decision meeting process.

Submissions should be submitted by email to: conversations@chiwork.org. Submissions should include a manuscript using the ACM Master Article Submission Template (single column). Here you can find the templates for LaTeX, Word, and Overleaf. If you use LaTeX, please use: documentclass [manuscript] {acmart}. Submissions should be maximum three content pages (excluding references), that includes a 2-page description of the proposed conversation topic + one page of the speaker’s biography. Manuscripts should not be anonymized.

Important dates

All times are in Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time zone. When the deadline is day D, the last time to submit is when D ends AoE. Navigate to the time.is website if you’re not sure.

Submission deadline: March 8th, 2024

Decision notification: March 22nd, 2024

What is a CHIWORK Conversation?

The Conversations track is geared towards creating stimulating discussions at CHIWORK. This will follow a panel-style format , where authors will be invited to discuss their works in depth with the Conversations Chairs. We encourage discussions that highlight real-world experiences of systems that enable new ways of working, discussions on work practices across settings and geographical boundaries, or discussions about different methods and approaches for studying future work practices.

Topics

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Tools for remote work: working from home, working while commuting, and meetings with remote participants
• New ways of getting work done: techniques for interleaving work; easy resumption, engagement, and disengagement; and incorporating well-being needs in productivity tools
• Working and trust with AI and automation: techniques for cooperation and collaboration with AI agents, new tools for task automation, working in and with automated environments and entities including cars, drones, and robots; designing for fairness, transparency and dignity
• Technologies for the future of work: networking, augmented reality, virtual reality, wearable devices, and human-robot collaboration
• Supporting worker well-being and health: maintaining work-life boundaries, supporting physical movement, and facilitating work attachment and detachment, exploring how systems support or privilege well-being of workers in gendered, race-, caste- and class-informed ways
• Designing digital tools: preparing the ground for professional development and adaptation to and development of individual skills
• Matching and developing worker skills for job opportunities: assessing worker skills, matching existing skills to new job opportunities, platforms and peer-networks for learning new skills
• Inclusion and accessibility: technology that is built for equality and technology that supports all abilities
• Large language models at work: use in practice, risks, organizational and staff perspectives 
• Security and privacy: protecting work infrastructure from malicious actors and maintaining privacy while providing personalized support for work and well-being
• Novel ways of measuring outcome: rewarding performance so that it takes into account an individual’s unique needs, incorporating well-being as an integral part of productivity, fostering and measuring creativity and innovation, and supporting self-reflection by workers
• Tools and platforms for hiring and managing workers: new models for hiring, onboarding, and management; understanding and supporting freelancing, on-demand, crowdwork, and gig work
• Societal impact: supporting decision-making for policy and regulation, integrating perspectives of workers, firms, governments, and communities; addressing the economics and resilience of individuals, communities, and society

Selection Process

Submissions will be selected by the chairs using a single decision meeting process. Authors can expect to receive light feedback. The main criteria by which submissions will be judged against is their capacity to provoke discussion: Does this work present research contributions or ideas that will stimulate interesting conversation among CHIWORK attendees? To what extent will the presenters benefit from being able to discuss their work and receive feedback at this stage?

Conversations Co-Chairs

Shadan Sadeghian – University of Siegen, DE

Advait Sarkar – Microsoft, UK

Abdallah El Ali – Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), NL

For questions, please email conversations@chiwork.org