Opinion: The metaverse is not yet prepared to become the future of work

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the way many Canadians work. Statistics Canada reported that remote work increased to 40% in April 2020 but decreased to 18.7% by May 2024.

While remote work offers benefits like saving time and money on commuting and promoting work/life balance, research has shown that collaborative work can suffer in remote settings.

Advocates of the metaverse propose it as the future of remote work due to virtual worlds and VR providing opportunities for collaboration in virtual spaces. However, some argue that remote work lacks spontaneous interactions that can spark innovation.

Factors like Zoom fatigue and attempts to recreate casual office encounters through virtual events have led to increased interest in the metaverse as the future of remote work.

The term “metaverse” was coined by author Neal Stephenson in 1992, describing the convergence of physical and virtual space accessible through computers and immersive technologies like VR, AR, and MR.

User interaction issues

Previous exploration of virtual environments for remote work has been seen, such as virtual islands hosted by companies like IBM and Microsoft in the Second Life platform. However, the metaverse primarily relies on VR headsets for interaction.

While it is claimed that VR can recreate in-person experiences, the interaction methods in VR systems may lead to usability challenges.

Modern VR systems use 3D input devices like controllers and hand tracking for interacting with 3D content. However, these controllers may lack precision compared to conventional input devices, impacting tasks like target acquisition.

Eye tracking is also being introduced, but it can cause eye fatigue and its performance is dependent on the quality of the device’s eye tracker.

Ergonomics and physical strain

VR headsets have become more affordable and portable, but extended use may still result in head and neck strain. VR controllers can lead to arm and shoulder fatigue, known as “gorilla arm syndrome.”

Methods to reduce fatigue, like mapping smaller physical motions to larger virtual motions, have not been widely adopted by manufacturers, who prefer 1:1 scale interaction.

Cybersickness

Cybersickness, a form of motion sickness induced by VR, affects a significant percentage of users. It is primarily caused by visual-vestibular mismatches and postural stability issues.

Mitigation strategies include minimizing movement and using techniques like natural walking for motion. Better system design can help reduce the risk of cybersickness.

The future of work

Despite enthusiasm for the metaverse as the future of work, unresolved issues like user interaction, ergonomics, and cybersickness pose challenges. These issues cannot be easily solved with new hardware or software.

Until these challenges are addressed, remote work in the metaverse is likely to appeal to early adopters and experimental companies, but it may not become a mainstream solution in the near future.

Victoria (Vicky) McArthur receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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