By Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
As we approach year three of the pandemic, the market has been observing a swift change in the traditional model that has reigned for years. Traditional workplaces have given way to remote working, meeting rooms to Zoom calls. And now it seems that virtual spaces are in sight for big name companies like Meta, Google and Samsung, which are investing big time in the metaverse.
The idea of working in the metaverse may still seem like the distant future, but it may be closer than we imagined.
Just a few weeks ago, a report was published on a study involving 18 university staffers who spent one week working in a digital environment. Although the results seemed to demonstrate that a number of the volunteers suffered from side effects such as nausea, lessened productivity and increased anxiety, as reported in the New Scientist, the fact is that a virtual workplace may become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
The workplace in the context of the metaverse presents an unlimited range of possibilities. We may easily associate metaverse workplaces with the more-advertised form involving an individual logging into a virtual environment through the use of virtual reality (VR) technology.
Meetings can take place on the beachside, or people can write emails while floating in outer space, or even teleport from Seoul to New York all with a VR headset. The future of work will soon defy all physical limitations.
The immersive nature of the metaverse promises to enhance social connection ― keeping several employees engaged in a 2D setting of a video call has its challenges, but the virtualization and gamified technology can simulate a real-life experience.
Rather than showing employees a document on Zoom to read, people can stay concentrated by walking through a 3D room with interactive stands that contain the contents of the document.
As any new technology, metaverse requires extensive research and improvements before it can become adequate and an efficient advancement for society. Digital workplaces are still in their embryonic stage, with more work to be done that may tackle and resolve the initial issues unearthed in the recent studies, such as the development of VR equipment that may impose less physical strain on users or the creation of more comfortable virtual workplace environments.
Companies still need further breakthroughs to make more comfortable and affordable headsets for offering a more seamless experience. In addition, companies may face challenges to get some employees to adopt the technology. When in a 3D environment, users may face a vergence-accommodation conflict, where the brain is confused by the distance of objects resulting in the symptoms mentioned above, such as headaches, fatigue or nausea.
Everyone seems to have different comfort levels and companies will have to work on developing a technology that can balance the cost and physics of the headset while working on the comfort of the device.
Whether the metaverse workplace takes on a partial or full immersion, as the technology advances, productive capacity will increase significantly just as laptops and mobile phones brought more efficiency and productivity. As technology develops, our level of immersion will also increase. The workplace nowadays already is immensely different from what we imagined it to be a couple years ago, but workplace transformation is only beginning.
Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@snu.ac.kr) is studying for a master's degree in marketing at Seoul National University. Her research focuses on digital assets and the metaverse. Joel Cho (joelywcho@gmail.com) is a practicing lawyer specializing in IP and digital law.
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| Chyung Eun-ju |
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| Joel Cho |
The idea of working in the metaverse may still seem like the distant future, but it may be closer than we imagined.
Just a few weeks ago, a report was published on a study involving 18 university staffers who spent one week working in a digital environment. Although the results seemed to demonstrate that a number of the volunteers suffered from side effects such as nausea, lessened productivity and increased anxiety, as reported in the New Scientist, the fact is that a virtual workplace may become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
The workplace in the context of the metaverse presents an unlimited range of possibilities. We may easily associate metaverse workplaces with the more-advertised form involving an individual logging into a virtual environment through the use of virtual reality (VR) technology.
Meetings can take place on the beachside, or people can write emails while floating in outer space, or even teleport from Seoul to New York all with a VR headset. The future of work will soon defy all physical limitations.
The immersive nature of the metaverse promises to enhance social connection ― keeping several employees engaged in a 2D setting of a video call has its challenges, but the virtualization and gamified technology can simulate a real-life experience.
Rather than showing employees a document on Zoom to read, people can stay concentrated by walking through a 3D room with interactive stands that contain the contents of the document.
As any new technology, metaverse requires extensive research and improvements before it can become adequate and an efficient advancement for society. Digital workplaces are still in their embryonic stage, with more work to be done that may tackle and resolve the initial issues unearthed in the recent studies, such as the development of VR equipment that may impose less physical strain on users or the creation of more comfortable virtual workplace environments.
Companies still need further breakthroughs to make more comfortable and affordable headsets for offering a more seamless experience. In addition, companies may face challenges to get some employees to adopt the technology. When in a 3D environment, users may face a vergence-accommodation conflict, where the brain is confused by the distance of objects resulting in the symptoms mentioned above, such as headaches, fatigue or nausea.
Everyone seems to have different comfort levels and companies will have to work on developing a technology that can balance the cost and physics of the headset while working on the comfort of the device.
Whether the metaverse workplace takes on a partial or full immersion, as the technology advances, productive capacity will increase significantly just as laptops and mobile phones brought more efficiency and productivity. As technology develops, our level of immersion will also increase. The workplace nowadays already is immensely different from what we imagined it to be a couple years ago, but workplace transformation is only beginning.
Chyung Eun-ju (ejchyung@snu.ac.kr) is studying for a master's degree in marketing at Seoul National University. Her research focuses on digital assets and the metaverse. Joel Cho (joelywcho@gmail.com) is a practicing lawyer specializing in IP and digital law.
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