Younger generations seem ready to embrace the concept of metaverse workplaces, while the older population have concerns, particularly surrounding surveillance and online privacy. Following the shift to remote work during COVID-19 lockdowns, hybrid working has become popular. However, employees resisting a return to full-time office work has led many companies to adopt a hybrid approach, and workplaces are expected to continue evolving.
The future of workplaces may include immersive virtual environments. Despite privacy concerns around metaverse workplaces, a significant shift towards favoring virtual reality for communication has been noted. People still prefer video conferencing for engagement and connectedness, but the shift to immersive workplaces is on the horizon.
Working with life-like avatars in a virtual office could soon become the norm. Employees who enjoyed working remotely during the pandemic are optimistic about metaverse workplaces, as it could enable full-time at-home work.
Several factors slow down the adoption of metaverse workplaces, including concerns over security and privacy, technological requirements, trust in providers, user fatigue, and simulator sickness. Adopting metaverse workplaces would be a more complex process than the uptake of digital tools and hybrid working.
Employers are optimistic about this shift, though it isn’t expected to be fully ready until 2040.
