Metaverse workplace designs used to be science fiction. But more and more companies are extending their physical offices into the metaverse. You’re hardly alone if you’re wondering what it’d be like to work from that digital universe. The trend has the potential to increase both productivity and career satisfaction. Read on to discover the exciting future of the modern workplace.
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Your Metaverse Workplace and the Larger Digital Domain
Understanding the metaverse workplace begins by looking at the metaverse as a whole. People often think of the metaverse as a virtual world or even a universe that you can step into. And that does describe the experience of accessing the metaverse with virtual reality. But you can access the metaverse with any type of extended reality technology. For example, augmented reality can display metaverse data overlaid onto the physical world.
Mixed reality can take that even further by introducing mobile digital entities into your physical environment. Different devices offer different means of access. And the range of devices spans everything from high-tech VR headsets to smartphones and game consoles. Because the metaverse can be experienced in other ways, it’s most accurately described as a boundless, immersive, parallel digital world that exists alongside the physical one.
But perhaps most importantly, the metaverse is a shared space with actual persistence. You can bring or meet friends and family in the metaverse. And the actions you take within that digital world will persist for others to experience for themselves. You can discover more about this continually evolving digital universe in the article “Metaverse Guide; Understanding The Basics Will Open Up a New World.”
What Is a Metaverse Workplace
With the metaverse adequately defined, it’s time to move on to the metaverse workplace. In the simplest terms, a workplace in the metaverse describes any virtual reality environment where you can get work done. These virtual environments are also accessible anywhere in the physical world as long as you have an Internet connection. But to get a more complete understanding of the subject, you also need to remember that these workplaces are fully customizable. Employers and employees alike can modify the environment in any way they can imagine. For example, you could rearrange an office in seconds.
Why Is the Metaverse Important for the Workplace?
You can see part of why the metaverse workplace is so important by looking at how you use documents. Almost everyone has shared digital documents with their coworkers. You can instantly send documents to coworkers, no matter if they’re on the other side of the office or the planet. And you can even collaboratively edit those documents in real-time. Now think about how much harder it’d be if you need to rely on physically moving documents from one person to the next.
A metaverse workplace brings that same benefit to everything in your office environment. You can now create 3D models and sketches, show off works in progress, and generally extend the digital shared screen model from 2D to 3D. On top of those benefits, a virtual workplace also brings the same advantages as a physical office. Both physical and metaverse offices keep workers engaged, connected, inventive, and productive.
Metaverse Workplace Accelerated by Remote Work and COVID-19
Sometimes society adapts to technological advances through need rather than desire. And the COVID pandemic told the public in no uncertain terms that it was time to try remote work. Of course, these were the first tentative steps for most people. But many, particularly younger workers, took to the idea like a duck to water. The pandemic gave the culture as a whole a chance to try out remote work. And in doing so, they also received a taste of the metaverse workplace future. The utility of remote work has left many excited for metaverse workplaces.
Devices to Access the Metaverse Workplace
One of the most exciting things about the metaverse stems from the fact that it’s a persistent digital universe that exists alongside the physical. All of the different gear used to access the metaverse gives you a different experience with shared content. You can think of it as somewhat analogous to the fact that trail running in a pair of solid running shoes is different than putting on sandals to have a picnic in that same environment.
You can access many of the same elements of the metaverse using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, and mixed reality devices. And different implementations of the concepts come in various price ranges. The sheer variety in options and cost means everyone can enjoy the metaverse. You can explore the full range of devices used to access the virtual world in the article “Metaverse Devices; The Best Gear To Enter the Metaverse”.
Metaverse Workplace Benefits for Businesses
The COVID pandemic gave many people a chance to see just how viable remote work was in today’s technologically focused society. However, it also served to highlight how vital the social atmosphere of a workplace can be. Workplaces filled with documents but devoid of personal connections can leave people feeling lonely and isolated. And this is one of the biggest benefits of a metaverse workplace. Discussions at metaverse events often focus on how this technology can bring people together. It’s true for metaverse games and similar socially oriented implementations. But it’s just as accurate for the metaverse workplace.
Another exciting benefit is that metaverse workplaces can provide a hybrid approach to remote work. It’s easy to transition between work modalities when both physical and digital interaction uses similar tools. This approach also makes it easy to have a plan B in emergencies. The pandemic showed how much of an advantage companies with solid remote infrastructures had. And the same goes for metaverse workplaces. Having metaverse tech prepared means that a person, a team, or the entire office can quickly shift between in-person and remote work. It also helps companies increase profit by reducing spending on physical environments.
Metaverse Workplace Examples
One of the most amazing things about the metaverse workplace is how quickly it’s taken hold. Most people have only really become aware of remote work in the past handful of years. But there’s already a considerable number of options available for people interested in a metaverse-based workplace. In addition to that, many of them are even associated with top-tier metaverse brands. This provides an extra level of support and assurance. While there are a considerable number of metaverse workplace options, the following highlight some of the best examples of what the concept can provide.
Horizon Workrooms
Facebook’s rebranding as Meta was a sign that the age of the metaverse had finally arrived. As such, it’s little surprise that Meta’s own platform is one of the best metaverse workplace implementations. The Horizon Workrooms system has all the polish you’d expect from Meta. You can customize avatars and even hear people’s conversations grow or fade with virtual distance from them. And it uses multiple forms of physical interactions and UI elements to create a fully immersive metaverse experience. You can discover even more about Meta’s Horizon Workrooms in the article “Horizon Workrooms; Meta’s VR Business Meeting Space”.
Video: Horizon Workrooms – Remote Collaboration Reimagined
Mesh for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s Mesh is a state-of-the-art mixed reality system that lets users collaborate through a shared holographic display. In comparison, the company’s Teams system is an industry-standard for virtual project management and communication. Mesh for Microsoft Teams is a new venture which combines these two excellent services into a singular whole. The end result is a system combining many of each system’s features into a universally accessible user-focused platform. You can use features like the Together and Presenter mode to enhance collaborative endeavors within a metaverse workplace. And the system is even accessible within lower-spec systems like smartphones.
Video: Introducing Microsoft Mesh
Gather
Gather is a metaverse workplace built around a central idea. The system aims to remove the constraints from people’s lives by providing an enhanced virtual layer over the physical world. These emergent virtual spaces allow people to work, learn, socialize, and grow on their own terms. And the space scales to your needs, whether you’re part of a team with 20 members or 2,000. As the name suggests, the program makes it easy to “gather” people together into a virtual team. After doing so, you can use whiteboards, share documents, and even hold virtually in-person meetings together.
Video: Gather Virtual Offices
Tangle
People often assume that the metaverse means 3D virtual reality systems. But it’s essential to remember that the metaverse can refer to technologies like NFT implementations, the blockchain, and 2D portals. And Tangle is the perfect example of a metaverse workplace that forgoes 3D for 2D. By doing so, it can work through highly modest hardware like standard laptops or desktops. Tangle focuses on this ease of use with a slick and easy-to-use interface. All of this comes together to create an extremely accessible system that can easily unite people into a cohesive team.
Video: Tangle Explainer
Breakroom
Breakroom is a 3D metaverse workplace that puts power in your hands. You have tremendous freedom to customize Breakroom’s workplace to fit your needs perfectly. The platform puts special emphasis on the communication that everyone needs to reach their full potential at work. The spacial audio system helps ensure that the 3D spaces behave similarly to physical spaces. When you approach people talking with each other the conversation becomes louder and more distinct. You also benefit from digital interfaces with in-world email and a public announcement system.
Video: Breakroom Virtual World Platform
Teamflow
Imagine a towering high-tech skyscraper filled with bustling offices. Some of those offices might be cozy environments with tight-knit teams of just 20 people. Other offices might be filled with the creative energy of 200 experts letting their creativity take hold. Now imagine that concept built as a metaverse workplace. That’s the premise of Teamflow. You can set up a virtual office with up to 200 people per floor. And in between meetings, you can relax with a whiteboard, find coworkers to compare notes with, or essentially do anything you could in a physical office. It even has shared cursors.
Video: How to use Teamflow for all your meetings
Metaverse Startups Are a Driving Force Behind the Metaverse Workplace
One of the exciting elements of the metaverse workplace is how it’s being built within equally innovative work environments. Some of the most inventive metaverse companies are startups. These metaverse startups are typically focused on a single concept or core development principle. And the companies are usually formed by people who are passionate about a concept that doesn’t exist on the market. Essentially, they love the metaverse and want a specific idea implemented within it. You can find examples of the best of the best new metaverse companies in the article “Metaverse Startups; 10 Compelling Metaverse Startup Companies in 2022”.
Metaverse Workplace As Office and Development Destination
A workplace in the metaverse is generally discussed in the context of user-focused experiences, as in people logging into a workplace in a similar way to how others might drive to the office. But there’s a flip side to this concept. It takes the work of countless professionals to create the virtual environments that make up a metaverse workplace. You should think about something other than working inside the metaverse. You can also consider jobs focused on constructing the larger metaverse. Discover how the metaverse is creating new jobs in the article “Metaverse Jobs; Learn Everything About Your Career in the Metaverse”.
Now that you’ve seen the potential of the Metaverse workplace, there’s only one question remaining. How do you want to approach the idea? A workplace in the metaverse can function like a standard office environment or incorporate your boundless imagination.
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