Meta , the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Oculus, acquired that name in October 2021, exemplifying the importance it attached to the Metaverse , the immersive virtual space where interactions are intended to take place in an increasingly present future.
Meta proposes an immediate future in which 2023 will be a decisive step forward for the incorporation of the metaverse as a virtual meeting point at work
These interactions include social relationships but also labor relations and it is precisely this point that is intended to be strengthened over the next year, according to a study commissioned by Meta and the results of which have been released. For it, the opinion of 2,000 employees and 400 business leaders from around the world has been received in order to advance the way in which the work environment will change during 2023 thanks to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (RA). .
With 66% of those surveyed stating that they are convinced that virtual reality technology will help to replicate the sensations of a cohesive group that exist in the physical office, the conclusion is obtained that even those who do not fully understand the nascent metaverse find themselves keenly interested in the challenges that they will be able to bring to the work environment.
Thus, the predictions that advance from Meta for the future of work and how the workplace will change in 2023 are the following:
-Community and inclusion: Despite the fact that after the initial moments of the pandemic and the months after the confinement, work became general, the return to normality has increased the return to face-to-face work, but there will still be a third of employees who They are going to remain in teleworking positions through hybrid formulas, which are proving highly effective. Given that videoconferencing still does not allow the sensation of immersion that virtual reality does produce, there are 66% of those surveyed who expect to receive these sensations thanks to the metaverse.
-Increased investment in VR and AR: Both virtual reality and augmented reality require companies to invest in equipment and technology that makes it possible for their workspace to reach the metaverse. If hybrid work models have already required an investment in portable equipment that allows employees to have a computer with which to work from home, the next step will be to direct that investment effort to VR and RA equipment. In fact, there are already almost 75% of the business leaders surveyed who affirm that they have allocated funds to this chapter and 80% expect to be able to do so in the course of the next two years.
-Collaboration to offer immersive technology to the workforce: The metaverse should be constituted as an ecosystem that allows deep, immersive, enriching experiences and with the capacity for interoperability between platforms, it must come from a collaborative construction, as demonstrated by the alliance between Meta, Microsoft and Accenture to offer joint immersive professional solutions.
-Companies that lack plans in the metaverse will lag behind their competitors: The opportunity of maintaining a presence and activity in this immersive virtual ecosystem will also have effects on the competitiveness of companies, favoring those that have an active strategy and updated in it and harming those that do not offer VR and AR technologies.
In fact, there are 64% of business leaders who consider that they are already falling behind their competition for these reasons and 55% believe that having these technologies would help beneficially promote the work-life balance of their employees. In addition, 72% of those surveyed agree with the benefit that having this technology can bring in order to retain talent in the company.
