A not-so-distant future: the work environment and the metaverse
What does the future of work hold? Top considerations for today's business leaders include the role of technology in the work environment, purposeful workplace design, and what people are looking for in a workspace.
The connected future
Is the future of work a digital workspace? While the metaverse will be a part of the future workplace, so will face-to face interactions. Technology should be augmented in the work world, so employees can cognitively collaborate in the medium that works best.
When people meet in person, it should be meaningful and purposeful. The physical space needs to be more authentic and focused on developing connections and building relationships. If people are valuing human connection over everything else, decision makers need to pay attention to that.
Work is no longer “all or nothing”
As companies leverage AI more and more, what is the role of the worker, and how does this impact the traditional office and it’s norms? Work is evolving – people are being tasked with innovation and creation tasks, and the traditional office set up isn’t cutting it. The work environment will need to reflect what businesses need to accomplish for success.
People still want to come together in person, but they will require spaces that serve multiple uses – co-creation, co-action, and decision making. We need to start redefining how we’re working and what’s effective, because the way we work has completely changed.
We’re at a new evolution
As work evolves, the physical environments need to be rebranded to a destination people want to go to. When people hear the words “office” and “workplace”, they’re associating it with the original workplace, and they don’t want to come in. The commute isn’t the deterrent; it’s the end destination they don’t want.
By making destination “creation spaces” a third option with a specific purpose, workers are more likely to come into the space.
Understanding what people value
It’s becoming clear work environments will be social anchors that bring people together. People want to come in for events, for experience mentoring and tacit knowledge learning, and for “bump in” conversations. Spaces need to be outfitted to support why they would want to come back.
To draw employees back into the physical environment, leadership needs to get involved in the decision-making process, testing needs to occur to see new ways of engaging in the space, and organizations need to ask their employees how space should be used.
Listen and learn more about the metaverse, workplace technology, and the future of work.
Imagine a place podcast - The future of our work lives on Spotify
WorkDesign - Commuting to the Metaverse: 3 Considerations for Designing a Virtual Office
BUILDINGS - Future-Proof the Office with Smart Tech Integration
