Anticipating the Metaverse Office Space

The pandemic started our craving for not only the WFH model, but also virtual offices. Regardless of the pandemic, both employers and employees have found the benefits of working remotely, and it seems that remote working is going to be the trend for the future. And with remote working being the trend, people have started looking for virtual spaces aside from the classic Zoom or Google Meet conferences. In fact, some companies such as the Los Angeles-based agency Movement Strategy have had a head start by having their virtual office party.

What’s So Special about The Metaverse Office Space?

Whether your office has jumped into the virtual office bandwagon or not, it’s already here. Microsoft plans to create VR/AR integration with Teams, their messaging and conference app. Meta has provided Horizon Workrooms for people who wish to have virtual meetings with their Oculus. Zoom had an early start by giving immersive background for meetings back in 2021. Given that Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom are three leading companies in the industry, it seems that more will soon follow the trend. So… why are we so excited about metaverse office spaces?

The buzz around metaverse office spaces is probably rooted in their benefits, which are something very similar with those of remote working. The great things about remote working – non-existent commuting, higher productivity, better employee engagement, cost efficiency, etc. – are transferred to virtual office spaces. But instead of getting stuck in a non-immersive experience that closely resembles conventional video calls, we get a more immersive one. In a nutshell, the metaverse office space amplifies the best experience of remote working.

Utilizing the Metaverse Office

An ideal metaverse has everything that we need for working. As advertised by Meta in a YouTube video, working in the metaverse allows us to do a lot of things, from focusing on our tasks in our virtual private space to giving a presentation in a virtual room as if we’re there… while wearing our favorite sweatpants in real life. Oh, and have we mentioned that we will have, as Wall Street Journal dubbed, “the digital version of ourselves”? Our digital avatar and those of others can create a sense of presence that we lack, especially during WFH moments.

Metaverse Office Space: Business Opportunities

Because it’s fun to use – and profitable for businesses, too – metaverse office space actually provides business opportunities. In fact, several companies have made successful attempts, at least at their initial stage. Lizzy Lawrence from Protocol.com noted several examples of this. In May 2020, for instance, Gather’s launching actually raised $77 million. Teamflow had a similar case as it has collected $50 million ever since it started in early 2021. Virbela, which has been working on creating virtual space for almost a decade, had a 260% revenue increase in 2020.

Does the Metaverse Office Space Have a Bright Future?

In case it hasn’t been obvious already, yes, it does. It’s fun, it’s new, it’s refreshing, and it has a lot of potential. It even provides a virtual substitute for the lack of physical presence during WFH. At the moment, to be honest, the metaverse office space is neither ideal nor inclusive – you need oculus VR headsets, for instance, to access it. A lot of tech corporations even might assert that the metaverse hasn’t arrived yet. But there are a lot of potentials that the metaverse office space can offer, and it’s definitely going to be a new reality for our work-related routines.