Over the past few years, plenty of us have become accustomed to remote or hybrid work. The shift led to monumental changes in the way we connect in our roles and with our team. But even with the experience we’ve gained, companies are still struggling with how to engage workers in a virtual workspace.
The metaverse may have the answers. Is this the future of remote work? Many experts seem to think so. With advances in technology, we can now experience virtual reality in a way that was once only possible in science fiction. This has led to the development of immersive workspaces, which allow us to work from anywhere in the world.
In this article, what does working in the metaverse mean, can traditional workplaces adapt, and what are the benefits and drawbacks.
Defining Working in The Metaverse
The metaverse workplace is a term for virtual reality environments that allow you to work from anywhere in the world. An immersive space that can be customized to meet your needs and preferences, providing a variety of benefits, including increased productivity, flexibility, and creativity. It also eliminates the need for expensive office space and equipment.
Metaverse workplaces are beneficial in the post-pandemic world because it allows workers to connect from anywhere in the world. Workers can communicate and collaborate without having to come into contact with each other, removing risks of illness and reducing travel costs.
Benefits of Working in The Metaverse
The metaverse offers and amplifies many of the benefits of standard remote working. It also retains some of the advantages of on-site working models, and extends these to remote workers, potentially boosting their motivation and engagement.
Benefits include:
1. Reduced rental and running costs
Companies operating a virtual office do not need to rent as much office space in the real world, or pay real world costs around utilities, furniture, office supplies etc.
2. Cash and time savings for workers
When attending a virtual office, workers will not need to pay commuting costs, or spend time moving between office and home. This time and cash saving could enhance staff work-life balance and engagement in their work.
3. Intuitive interaction
3D virtual spaces offer the opportunity for workers and clients to interact simply and directly with 3D models of products, places and people. This is a richer, more intuitive experience than current remote working can provide.
4. Visibility and efficiency
Seeing colleagues and managers moving around in virtual form may give a greater sense of being part of an organization and team. This visibility also allows for spontaneous conversation, questions and answers, just as in an on-site office, allowing issues to be quickly resolved, or tasks to be immediately distributed.
5. More natural socialization
In standard remote working, conversations and meetings are scheduled and incorporated into online workflows. Team building and social engagements must be artificially staged (e.g. online quizzes and other team events). The metaverse allows more natural social interaction for remote workers. For example, a worker’s avatar might turn and chat to someone “sitting” beside them, or spontaneously join an informal work huddle in the corner.
Drawbacks of Working in The Metaverse
The metaverse does not come without its problems, some of which are inherent and others which might be ironed out as rules and norms develop around operating in the virtual office and the metaverse environment.
Drawbacks include:
1. Longer times spent online
The idea of spending a full day online in a virtual office may seem negative and stressful to workers who may already feel overwhelmed by Zoom meetings, emails, and keeping up with workflows on collaborative working platforms. Long periods of online time might also affect the eyes and concentration.
2. Provision, training and acceptance of new equipment and software
While the ideal is that metaverse working should be seamless and easy to access, current options may require the use of special VR headsets and computer software. In the future, there is likely to be simpler metaverse accessibility.
3. Lack of rules and governance in virtual spaces
With the metaverse and virtual spaces still relatively novel to many, there may be a guidance vacuum around how to work and behave in the metaverse (e.g. what might be seen as rude or unacceptable). Rules and norms are needed in order to maintain task coherence and positive behaviors, while maintaining worker engagement and wellbeing, and preventing harassment or bullying.
4. Privacy and monitoring concerns
Companies operating entirely in a single virtual space have greater opportunity and means for monitoring the presence and activity of their staff. While supportive tracking of performance in remote teams is constructive, over-monitoring can be stressful for workers and ultimately counter-productive, resulting in lowered engagement and productivity.
Some Examples of Metaverse Workplaces
The metaverse space offers flexibility, creativity, and productivity, though there are drawbacks. Here are some examples of how other companies happen to be using the Metaverse for their workplaces and why they’re convinced that this is the future of work.
Horizon Workrooms — Meta (Facebook)
Meta’s dream of the metaverse isn’t fully built out yet, but their virtual office product is. It’s called Horizon Workrooms, which is available on the Oculus Quest 2. Its benefits are that it’s affordable for businesses, fully immersive, and easily accessible. Facebook has already started to use it within their teams. Within the space, you can access your current technology from your workstation, like your computer or keyboard.
Tangle
Tangle is a non-VR virtual office product, which is great for accessibility and testing within your company. It’s available on a desktop, so there is no need to purchase any other equipment for the people in your organization. In addition to the ease of access, another benefit of Tangle is its friendly user interface. It can help build cohesive remote teams.
VISIONxR™
This is our virtual collaboration tool. We built VISIONxR™ to be completely customisable based on the needs of clients.
A benefit of this is that it is compatible with all devices (PC Screen, VR Headsets, Tablets and Mobile). It’s built around collaborative working and training, which can be great for increasing a company’s remote working experience.
One caveat however, is that VISIONxR™ is not an off-the-shelf product. There would be time required to customize the virtual environment based on your needs and then integrate this into your current business processes.
Fills the gaps
Remote work is no longer the exception to the rule. More than half of employees expect at least a hybrid work arrangement, if not a fully remote position. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to adapt to the new reality and equip our teams with the technology and infrastructure they need to be successful — even if that technology is a VR headset. As the metaverse becomes more prominent, we should be thinking about its values as an internal business tool as well.
Final Thoughts
The metaverse is not a place or a thing that you can physically hold — it is an evolution of the internet. And since it is evolving, it is difficult for companies to predict how it will play out and where they belong.
Enterprises will have to explore how the nature of jobs could change in the wake of an immersive digital environment and persistent, decentralized, collaborative, interoperable digital content. Anchoring digital information to machines will enable new repair and installation workflows for technicians and customers. Adaptive digital signs and price tags could change retail jobs. Collaborative 3D simulations will change the way we make complex decisions — and these are just a fraction of the ways virtual worlds will transform work.
