With flexible, work-from-anywhere arrangements becoming the norm, the metaverse looks set to help overcome many of the challenges faced by small businesses working in a hybrid setup, writes Jason Juma-Ross, Director of Technology and Innovation, Meta ANZ.

Hybrid and remote work are here to stay and are already bringing huge benefits for businesses everywhere, from small to large – from beginning to decouple physical location from work opportunity, and providing the flexibility people need to balance work and life.

Yet the realities of long-term hybrid work bring along new challenges for all businesses to grapple with, like maintaining culture and mastering remote collaboration, when your small team might rarely be in the same place at once.

Metaverse to the rescue

The metaverse will help businesses overcome many of these challenges, creating a world where people at work can feel truly productive and connected. While it won’t materialise overnight, the businesses that invest in their people, culture and technology today will be well placed to reap the benefits on the road to the metaverse.

Here are four ways the metaverse is set to change the way we work for the better.

1. Feeling like you’re there in person when you’re thousands of miles away

For too long there has been an in-person bias in our work structures. If you work in a physical workspace, chances are you’re better exposed to leadership, opportunities, and information.

Too many businesses have failed to notice this inequity. But remote work and macroeconomic factors like the Great Resignation are now making it impossible to ignore.

Presence isn’t about seeing your colleagues on video calls, it’s about replicating that sense of togetherness that comes from being together in person. The metaverse will help us do this through shared spaces built for synchronous collaboration, spontaneous interactions and co-working.

2. More inclusive and multi-format ways of working together

Two years into the pandemic and many of us may feel collaboration is synonymous with video calling. While video calling is vitally important, it can’t be the only option. After all, what works for some is unlikely to be the best solution for your whole team.

To enable effective collaboration on the road or when half of the office is working from home, businesses need to provide tools that remove friction and allow collaboration to flow fluidly, for example, through body language cues or the ability to physically interact with projects. Businesses need to give employees the license to banish ‘always on’ culture and collaborate asynchronously, too.

We’re only at the beginning of the collaboration journey with our virtual meeting space, Horizon Workrooms. In five years, we expect that hybrid collaboration could include holographic attendance at meetings and events, as well as the ability to teleport to shared spaces.

3. Working smarter, not harder with technology

It’s clear that we’re moving away from the days of working 9am-5pm, five days a week. But few businesses today really empower their people to switch off and focus.

At work, small things can make a big difference to our productivity, from not having a second screen to distracting notifications. And for those that work on the frontline in sectors like retail and travel, your extended team may often not have access to the tools they need at all.

In the future, we’ll be able to embrace tech that helps us work smarter, not harder. VR will help free us from our physical constraints so that we can set up our ideal productive environments – with infinite displays and persistent whiteboards that connect to the tools we use today, and the ability to transport virtually to the places where we get our best work done.

4. Opening opportunities for all workers

The metaverse has the potential to make work a better place for everyone, severing the link between where we are and the work opportunities available to us. But none of this will be possible if we repeat the mistakes of the past, by excluding and underserving businesses of all sizes from the tools and technology we build.

By building the metaverse in a way that works across 2D and 3D as well as different devices and user circumstances, we can make sure that it is not only the preserve of those sitting in fancy conference rooms or with headsets. It’s only when we build for all businesses that the metaverse can deliver on its promise and create better work experiences for all.

The metaverse is set to change the way we work for the better, but one thing it won’t change is the things we value at work: communication, community, connection.

Want more? Get our newsletter delivered straight to your inbox! Follow Kochie’s Business Builders on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Now read this:

https://www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/the-metaverse-and-beyond-4-ways-the-metaverse-is-set-to-change-how-consumers-engage-with-retailers/