Virtual reality in an upended reality By Christina McLean
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he way we work has seen an enormous shift during 2020 as more people than ever are working from home. However, for many of the self-employed, working from home isn’t a new concept. According to research conducted by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) in 2018, the vast majority (87%) of self-employed people had worked remotely in the last 12 months, of which an overwhelming majority (97%) worked from home, at least occasionally. That said, the scale of remote working for both employees and the self-employed is, dare I say it, unprecedented, and as a result many rely upon various video conferencing apps to effectively communicate with teams and clients, and to remotely co-ordinate projects. These communication tools have proven important not only from a productivity perspective, but also for wellbeing. Even over the course of two months, new updates and technologies are constantly evolving to help facilitate this. Many claim that this will impact the way we work not just in the present pandemic, but also once we “return” to a new normal. As the way we work evolves and tools adapt or are created, the question is – does Virtual Reality (VR) play a role in this, and will this be its chance to plant roots in our working lives? WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY? In basic terms, VR in its current form typically allows the user to wear a headset covering their eyes and presents a view into a virtual space using a screen in the headset. Depending on what you’re using it for, this virtual space can
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be programmed to be anything from underwater diving to boardrooms with whiteboards. For an even more immersive experience, users can wear headphones to hear the sounds of their virtual environment (perhaps a colleague giving a presentation), and they can use controllers that function as their hands in the environment and allow them to perform certain tasks (like writing on a whiteboard). What makes VR different from, and more desirable, than other media is that it’s meant to trick your brain into processing the experience as if it were happening, allowing for a more immersive event. If you compare a VR meeting to a video conference for example, it could be argued that VR content is more engaging and memorable, especially when you consider that other distractions are eliminated.
modern work
