Study Suggests That Working in the Metaverse Is Not a Solution

Metaverse is a huge topic right now, not just in the obvious gaming environment, but at work as well. Many already dream of a new virtual office and VR glasses as the most important tool. But the first studies show that this is not a good idea. Meta, the parent company formerly known as Facebook, deliberately chose this name. The social media giant and its boss and founder Mark Zuckerberg believe the future of the company and of humanity as a whole lies in the so-called metaverse — or cyberspace as we know it from science fiction literature and movies.

But in the field of work, metaverse, virtual reality, and whatever you want to call it are not a solution, so new scientist refer to a study by the University of Coburg and the British Cambridge University (via the standard The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, sent 16 people to a traditional office for 35 hours a week and then to a virtual reality office for the same amount of time.

VR-Bro almost only has drawbacks

The virtual brother underperformed in almost all categories, namely “significantly”. Especially in relation to productivity and health: 19 percent of the participants in the survey found work more stressful, and 35 percent found work pressure greater. 42 percent of people felt frustrated that they couldn’t do their job efficiently enough, and 16 percent felt their productivity dropped in the VR environment.

There were also numerous physical complaints: complaints of exhaustion, tired eyes, headaches, and even nausea. Two subjects even had to stop the experiment after just one day – they couldn’t wear the headset.