How a Virtual Workplace can change your business

Hybrid working is here to stay. Research by AWA has shown that with hybrid working, we are more productive at home than in the office. Perceived productivity loss is 8-10% at home, compared to 11-13% in the office. 

The answer for a purpose-built Virtual Workplace is rooted in technology. Video conferencing technology and Microsoft 365 helped at the start of the pandemic, but now employees are experiencing zoom fatigue and have difficulty interacting with colleagues the way they did before the pandemic. Many employees find the lack of social interaction is a barrier to remote work being effective. It is difficult to schedule casual chats and conversations that aren’t meetings. 

Yes, technology helped us to work remotely and was a fantastic help during the pandemic. However, it isn’t perfect. For hybrid working to be suitable for everyone, we need to be even more connected. No matter where employees log in from, the office, at home, a local café, everyone needs to be on a level playing field regardless of location. So how can we create an interconnected technology workplace?

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Enter the Metaverse

The future of virtual working involves the metaverse. The metaverse is thought to be the successor of the internet. A place that we will all be involved with to shop, work, play games, watch films and relax with friends. It will be one large, connected reality. 

Businesses will use this metaverse to connect with their clients and employees in their own branded worlds and virtual 3D offices. Technology is currently used to bridge those who work in the office and remotely, but it should be a seamless place to work - something that can only be achieved with a 3D Virtual Workplace in the metaverse. 

What can the metaverse offer that’s not already available? 

With a Virtual Workplace in the metaverse, there is no limit to what you can create in your virtual office space

The well-being of employees is put at the forefront. Spontaneous communication is back, socialisation, and wellbeing areas with Peloton and Headspace subscriptions might replace the unused gym memberships your company offers.

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The Virtual Workplace is in a 3D world, and can be as lifelike or unrealistic as you like - have your meetings in a virtual rendering of your boardroom or on the peak of Mount Olympus. The amazing thing about the Virtual Workplace is that the avatars of your colleagues are there too, so you can bump into them while walking around. 

Every business will eventually need to provide a Virtual Workplace to both attract and retain the best talent. This digital extension of the enterprise is not only a digital asset for the future, it will allow a business to project its personality in a manner that is unobtainable in the physical world.

The analytics that the metaverse can hold for businesses also can revolutionise the way we work. We can see when employees are at what desks, which helps to plan business efficiencies, including seating plans and energy consumption.

To read more about how we will make hybrid working actually work, download our free thought leadership piece here.