New technologies have given workers many alternatives to traditional work that are easier and more convenient. Zoom has changed the way people work remotely and in hybrid teams, but the development of the metaverse could be the biggest game-changer of all.
The idea that you can put on a pair of glasses and enter a new virtual world is exciting, and not just for entertainment and games. The idea of the metaverse is closely related to virtual reality and gamification.
Virtual worlds like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft have so many users and so much money that they could be compared to small countries. How will these worlds and the conference room in the metaverse change the way people work in the future?
Let’s Figure Out What Is Metaverse Technology!
People often talk about the metaverse as the next version of the internet. It is a shared virtual space that is always online and doing things.
So, how is that different from a chat room online?
Snow Crash, a science fiction book from 1992, is where the word “metaverse” comes from. In the book, human avatars and software demons live in a parallel 3D universe.
Now, the word is being used again.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has said that the metaverse will let people work in new ways in what he calls the “infinite office” and change the way the digital economy works.
In September of last year, Facebook Connect released Infinite Office, a new virtual office for people who work from home. It promised to make working from home much more immersive.
In 2020, Facebook released the Horizon brand of VR headsets, which is a platform for Oculus for Business. Facebook Horizon, which is still in beta, will let its users build and share online worlds where they can get to know each other, play games, or work on projects together.
Horizon Workrooms will let users create an avatar, work together on a whiteboard, stream what’s on their laptop, take notes, and talk to coworkers who video conference into the virtual room, all while sitting at their real workspace.
Workrooms is one way that Facebook is building the metaverse. Zuckerberg has said that he wants people to think of Facebook mainly as a metaverse company, or, as he calls it, a “embodied internet.”
How Will The Metaverse And Virtual Reality Change How We Work?
People learn best when they do things themselves. In fact, VR has been used to train soldiers, surgeons, and astronauts for decades. This technology is now used more widely, and VR headsets are used to train people who work in retail, logistics, and customer service, among other fields.
In less than 10 years, VR will be used in 23 million jobs around the world. This is how people will enter the metaverse.
Ideas like the metaverse could help people organize the way we work and, more generally, society in a more useful way. Shared standards and protocols that connect different virtual worlds and augmented realities into a single, open metaverse could make it easier for people to work together and do less work twice.
What Can Workers Look Forward In The Metaverse?
The Convenience For Workers Is Unmatched
There will be no need to commute because all interactions will be able to be done online just as well.
New Job Openings
Jobs that used to only be available in person will suddenly have virtual options. This means that freelancing and working from home will grow.
Management Monitoring
Depending on the rules, people in charge may be able to see almost everything an employee does. Privacy invasions of workers will need to be regulated, and workers may want to be aware of this while the regulations are still being made.
How Will Companies Profit?
The Global HR Summit in the fall of 2016 showed how immersive metaverse development technologies can help with digital transformation. The three-day event had 50 speakers who all wore Oculus Quest headsets. Virtual attendees could use their own headsets for a more immersive experience, or they could just use their laptops. All 50 speakers were sent headsets, and it was noted that the cost was a lot less than flying speakers out, paying for their lodging, and paying for other conference-related costs.
In a shared virtual economy, companies will need to change how they market themselves. Companies will need to find out more about their new customers in the metaverse by doing market research.
Businesses That Are Already Utilizing Metaverse
- Roblox Corporation, which makes video games, is already using the metaverse idea in its games.
- The Omniverse was made by Nvidia Corporation, which makes graphics processing units. The Omniverse is basically a metaverse for engineers.
- Facebook bought Oculus VR and made Horizon, a place where people from different virtual worlds can meet, with the metaverse in mind.
- Fastly, the metaverse is also being used by a cloud computing service.
When Will Metaverse Technology Become Mainstream?
The way people work will change when VR is used. Workers won’t have to decide between working from home or going to the office because the office will be everywhere.
But even with Facebook and other innovations from Big Tech, the industry faces a number of problems that need to be solved before the metaverse becomes popular.
Headsets for an entire workforce will be a big expense. The Oculus Quest 2 alone costs $299, and the headsets are still heavy, bulky, and not very useful.
The technology isn’t as useful as a phone call or video conference, and some people may get headaches or feel sick when using it.
There are still questions about how tech companies will handle safety and privacy issues in the metaverse and if people will really want to live or work in an immersive virtual simulation for most of their lives.
VR and the metaverse can help people who work from home feel like they are part of a team. People can talk to their coworkers, go to job interviews, find new jobs, talk to clients, and build their businesses. The metaverse doesn’t have to take over people’s lives; it can just give them new, exciting opportunities.