Matrix & The Workplace Metaverse

47% of surveyed UK workers want companies to adopt a workplace metaverse' but 66% of executives are designing post-pandemic policies with no direct input from employees’.

Source: TheMatrixMovie

The first Matrix movie back in 1999 raised the specter of an idea which at the time seemed fantastical. What if your reality is fake? What if your perception of the world was not real?

Twenty-two years on, right in the middle of a global pandemic where we are all living more digitally-driven lives than we ever have, where virtual worlds or ‘the metaverse’ is being strategized, debated, and worked on by some of the worlds largest tech companies (not to mention the smartest startups and scale-ups!) the release of the next installment of the Matrix franchise, The Matrix Resurrection this Holiday Season resonates with a whole new meaning.

Your perception. Your reality. Your workplace?

It’s all got to do with perception - sort of. Simplistically speaking perception is defined as ‘the way in which you think about or understand someone or something, (Mirriam-Webster, 2021).

Take for example two pieces of recent research on the perception of the workplace experience by employees in the new normal.

Research By: Owl Labs

Findings:

• 47 percent of the UK population surveyed ‘want companies to adopt the metaverse – a highly immersive virtual world that recreates opportunities for work, socialising, entertainment, and education – in the workplace.’

• 52 percent of the 2,000 surveyed see immersive virtual technologies as a way to ‘bridge the gap’ between those working in the office and those working remotely.

• 65 percent of respondents felt an “office metaverse” would boost flexibility, while just over a third believed it would help reduce bias in favor of those working regularly in the office.

“With hybrid work firmly cemented in our work culture, the need for technology that makes the remote working environment more immersive has never been more important. Through our own experience, we already know how innovative technology can create an environment where everyone feels like they’re in the same room regardless of location. As hybrid work can present potential challenges around presentism and a divide between the in person and remote workforce, immersive technology can boost inclusion and create a more united workforce.”

- Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs

Research By: Future Forum, a think tank backed by technology collaboration company Slack

Findings:

• 75% of executives currently working remotely want to come back three to five days a week.

• 17% of non-executives currently working remotely want to return to fully in-office work.

• 66% of executives are ‘designing post-pandemic workforce policies with little to no direct input from employees’.
  

The majority of CEOs, however, are not adequately involving employees in post-pandemic return-to-work plans. Sixty-six percent of executives report that post-pandemic planning conversations are happening mostly at the executive level, with little to no direct input from employees or consideration of their preferences.

- Future Forum Pulse Survey, 2021

So there you have it. Same reality -different perceptions.

In case you missed it

Bill Gates take on the Workplace Metaverse: Bill Gates believes that the metaverse is where you will host most of your meetings within ‘two or three years’. More>

Wall Street Bullish on the Metaverse: US Investment bank Jefferies predicts the metaverse will be ‘the biggest disruption to how we live ever seen’. More>

How to be more strategic about tech spending: HBR believes CEOs need to challenge every major tech investment by asking, “What if we had to realize twice the value in half the time?” More>

Like Snobal Weekly? | Signup to receive your copy delivered directly to your inbox each week.