Metaverse of madness: Employers and employees at odds over virtual workplaces

The metaverse is here. Who is willing to embrace it? 

Only 42% of employees are “very familiar” with the metaverse — an immersive, tech-driven world that embraces augmented and virtual reality  — compared to 69% of employers, according to a recent survey conducted by VPN service provider ExpressVPN. When asked about their interest in immersive work, 77% of employers said they were interested in experimenting, while only 57% of employees agreed.

“The metaverse is quickly gaining traction as a way to make remote work more efficient, and the idea of a traditional in-office work environment is now becoming a thing of the past,” says Harold Li, vice president of ExpressVPN. “However, the metaverse doesn’t come without its challenges, and employees are concerned about what this means for their privacy, primarily the surveillance of their real-time location, screen monitoring and even eye tracking.”

Read More: Big Brother’s watching: Workplace surveillance is violating employees' trust

Employers, on the other hand, see this as a business opportunity, which begins to explain their enthusiasm, according to Li.

“Our data shows that 43% of employees prefer a hybrid work environment over an in-office environment, and employers are evolving to meet this preference — 49% of employers plan to embrace a hybrid model of work in the future,” he says. “In the eyes of employers, the metaverse will be the fastest source of communication within companies and will ultimately generate better solutions.” 

For employers, a completely immersive virtual office space means there is no longer a need to pay rent and utilities at a physical office or purchase office supplies, Li explains. It will also create more competition for jobs, as employee location won't matter as much, making it easier for companies to hire top talent globally. Most notably, the ability to monitor a remote workforce will become easier for employers concerned about productivity.

But that’s precisely what’s driving employees’ metaverse hesitation. ExpressVPN’s data shows that surveillance of their real-time location (51%) and real-time screen monitoring (50%) were some of the biggest fears for employees, as well as biometrics or facial recognition (40%) and time tracking (47%).  

Read More: How the metaverse will change the workplace

“The pandemic has caused an over-reliance on technology, increasing employers' frequency of surveilling their employees,” Li says. “It is a breach of user privacy and a violation of trust, so it's understandable why they are so concerned about the implications of working in the metaverse.” 

With both parties on opposite sides of the metaverse argument, what will happen to companies? Will an embrace of the metaverse translate to lost employees? For Li, the answer is yes — but there may be ways to find common ground and compromise.

“Companies must educate employees about the potential future of work in the metaverse and what that currently looks like at other companies,” he says. “Full transparency will be necessary to earn the trust of employees, especially when it comes to monitoring their online activities and companies focus on collecting and storing less data on their employees in general to show confidence in their teams.”