How will VR and AR affect the future of work?

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are powerful technologies that offer immense potential to change many aspects of our lives, including how we work. A survey conducted by Grid Raster found that as many as 56% of businesses surveyed were already using some form of VR or AR in the workplace.

This expansion has plenty of foundation as well. Plenty of students are currently learning VR and AR principles in school and using those skills to apply to a vast number of developing jobs.

Like with other versatile technologies, the way VR and AR are used varies by field and industry. In the medical field, it could be using an AR overlay to help explain medical conditions to patients. In manufacturing, VR simulations of production processes can allow trainees to practice dangerous procedures, enhancing worksite safety. The retail world can use VR to walk customers through brand stories and AR to show them how a product looks in their home.

HR departments for all kinds of businesses can use AR and VR to onboard new employees, upskill current staff and improve employees’ hard- and soft-skills acquisition. And with new advancements in software and hardware, it seems the career opportunities using VR and AR technology, as well as the potential uses of the tech, will continue to grow.

Thanks to its ability to create a realistic space with intuitive interaction, VR presents opportunities for simulating work environments. Not only is this helpful during training for the job, but it also helps in attracting candidates. Recruiters may use these tools to explain typical work scenarios, and candidates may use them to get a more clear understanding of the job.

Using VR can also help by providing assessments to candidates. By providing a realistic scenario, candidates get a chance to display their skills in a more practical way than just talking about their capabilities and past accomplishments.

When it comes to helping new employees acclimate to a workplace and its culture, it can be a bit difficult for remote workers to gain their bearings. However, having employee interactions in a virtual space can help build a sense of camaraderie, which may be important for long-term employee retention.

This, in part, is why a new approach to the metaverse was proposed by Mark Zuckerberg in 2021. Although Zuckerberg initially proposed this new AR and VR advancement to cash in on the social media opportunities, plenty of workplaces see the opportunity in this advancement.

For one, VR could also be used to help new employees explore and get used to their new surroundings. This can make it easier to learn where to find supervisors and other important areas around the office.

VR technology is already used for training in fields such as medicine, but the opportunities don’t stop there. A study performed by the University of Maryland found that, compared to traditional training methods such as watching videos or reading documents, people retain information better while involved in a virtual environment.

As technology advances, it should be easier for groups to collaborate, even in international contexts, for training experiences. With these large collaborations, global, innovative medical advancements will become that much more common, surely leading to improved global health.

Through VR, it has become possible to visit locations across the world in an instant, and at a fraction of the cost. Early iterations of this concept usually limit the experience to a few panoramic views taken from pre-designated angles, but in the future, technology will make it easier to recreate fully immersive and traversable environments. Through VR headsets, workers can explore the office long before they ever actually set foot inside.

Additionally, the use of cloud-based AR could help enhance in-person tours. For instance, AR overlays can provide additional information, department names or on-the-fly directions; helping visitors or new employees tour complicated or unfamiliar facilities.

More and more companies are switching to remote and hybrid work environments, and an increasing number of employees are seeking these hybridized types of opportunities as well. Technologies like Zoom and other video chat software, along with chatting software like Slack help to keep a workforce connected, but the future will likely see VR play a larger role in these areas.

Virtual meetings could see workers sitting together in a virtual office space to see a presentation. And the presentation itself may be enhanced by the tech as well, for instance, rather than just looking at blueprints for a proposed new facility or expansion, VR can transport viewers directly to a virtual version of the environment.

Technology could also present new ways to build team relationships, providing ways to host virtual gatherings, such as after-work game nights, even for employees that live hundreds or thousands of miles away from one another.

Rather than looking at a model on a screen, an artist can directly view and interact with their creation. This makes it easier for a 3D modeler to gain a sense of their sculpture, and make intuitive changes. With a continued emphasis on virtual workspaces, the need for 3D modelers will also increase.

In addition, having VR technology to create models can help ensure they look believable from a variety of angles, which is important since their use in a VR space means viewers could be able to interact with them and view them in unpredictable ways.

While the use of VR continues to grow, so will the amount of data transferred. Complex virtual environments, along with constant tracking of the movements and viewpoints of multiple participants require a lot of data. Since interrupted or inconsistent motion can lead to nausea or Virtual Reality Sickness, the data transfer must remain quick and consistent.

Additionally, advancements in headset technology will provide higher resolutions and framerates, meaning the amount of data transferred to each user will increase as well. To facilitate this, more efficient data pipelines and faster internet connections should move forward in development. The increased significance of virtual interactions also puts greater emphasis on the need for increased account security, as well as measures for protecting privacy and keeping customers safe.