Many experienced professionals have never learned more than the rudimentary basics of email, web search and Microsoft Office.
Instead, they lean hard on nearby colleagues or the IT helpdesk when things go wrong.
By contrast, young people have already demonstrated a competitive edge in the virtual workplace.
As a generation, theyre also bigger gamers.
Much of the metaverse isstill to be built.
How virtual workplaces can improve communication
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And there is certainly a lot of room for improvement there.
Academic studies have found thatcollaborative workbetween colleagues suffers when they work remotely.
Exchanges over email or Slack increasingly replace real-time in-person conversations, hampering communication.
But, with remote working, this kind of serendipitous encounter all but disappears.
Technological advances mean solutions to these problems related to remote working are becoming possible.
VR versions of office spaces can be designed to encourage chance encounters and corridor chats.
Employees choose an avatar and navigate to their desks via elevators and corridors.
The webcam and mic then turn off automatically as their avatar walks away.
Gucci has already soldvirtual hats, handbags, and sunglasseson the MMO platform Roblox.
Young people have been theworst affectedby the disruption COVID has caused to the job market.
Nonetheless, the pandemic has also brought exciting glimpses of how remote working might evolve.
Due to public health concerns and climate pressure, the latter is here to stay.
