Technology is an integral part of our lives, whether at home or on the job. Erin McDannald, CEO of Environments, believes the metaverse will transform the way we work, with immersive environments that aren’t limited to the four walls of an office.
The metaverse, simply put, is a three-dimensional world that blends elements of video games, email, live-streaming, and social media. It’s not a single product created by one company, and eventually, people will be able to experience multiple metaverses that can connect to one another.
McDannald explained that Environments offers IoT integrated technologies for a range of industries and builds workplaces in virtual reality. Her team eagerly tests their creations — a replica of headquarters and employee avatars. “We learned how to talk to digital things and get them to talk back to us. We took those skills and started to create our own intelligent spaces,” she said.
Roblox, an online platform that allows users to develop their own games or play those imagined by others, served as unexpected inspiration for McDannald. As she watched her children play, she noticed that they easily related with others. “I saw how enthralled they were with it. They were building towns, talking with their neighbors, shopping, and creating their own experiences. That’s when it occurred to me. To them, digital interaction is no different than a real physical encounter. It feels the same.”
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Why do we need the metaverse at work? Employees are generally resistant to trying something that may be more complicated than what they are currently using to complete tasks. Yet being able to connect with colleagues wherever they are in the world is vital, especially as more companies adopt hybrid models.
The metaverse can streamline that process, and McDannald said we’ll actually have less conferences than we do today. “I think that there will actually be fewer meetings. In the metaverse, you can literally walk up to someone and have a conversation, without having to schedule some time just to get together.”
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She also noted that she’s not surprised by the Zoom burnout workers are experiencing, with multiple video chats often scheduled in a single day. We are with others, but we are relating on a surface level, which can have negative effects over time. “We can’t see what’s on the other side of the computer screen, and that’s an issue. I can imagine someone working at their desk from home, but I am not really sure. All I can see is the green light, and that’s not reliable. People aren’t really checking out when they are stepping away to grab some lunch.”
McDannald believes the metaverse will have mass appeal because it invites the spirit of play and evokes emotion, a rarity in workplaces filled with devices and endless emails. “It becomes overwhelming. Our inboxes are always full, and it’s difficult to keep up with all of itl. But when you are having an exchange in real-time with somebody, it gives you a lift and you’re able to keep the momentum going.”
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Each metaverse will be created for a particular company, and users can choose how they want it to look. McDannald started out as an interior designer, giving her a competitive advantage when dealing with the A&D clients. Her knowledge of the built environment is essential in the virtual workplace, too, she explained. “I am from this community and so is my team. Our clients are architects and designers, and we feel that what we do in this arena will have a bigger impact because of our understanding of how people move in a space, no matter where it is.”
The offices in the metaverse will have the same features found in a typical office, from furniture to signage. Workers can even gather around the watercooler for an afternoon chat. The interiors will have a cleaner look, the opposite of the pixelated blobs of the early Atari days. With VR goggles or without, viewers will truly see things differently.
Just as fashions and tastes change, so will the first iterations. It’s too soon to predict what the prevailing style might be, but giving users a sense of familiarity is key, at least for the moment. “I think what we start out with in the metaverse will not be what we end up with. It will evolve quickly, but in order to have a psychological attachment to a digital space it has to look like a physical space now,” McDannald said.
Designs will include colors, branding, and finishes to provide spaces that are distinctive, but how people are represented is also paramount. MacDannald noted that avatars, or digital twins, veer away from the cartoonish.“They look similar to the architectural avatars you see in Revit or AutoCAD. It’s important to us that they don’t look like caricatures.”
She added that younger employees are embracing the metaverse, and the rest of the workforce must follow to stay one step ahead of the curve. “We can’t rely on temporary solutions anymore. We have to pivot and be able to collaborate in a new way.
