Trend #91 from 100 Wunderman Thompson's Future 100 Trends 2022

Teleportation, holograms and roaming avatars—the future of work has arrived.

Virtual offices are taking over as the shift to remote and hybrid work is likely here to stay. Microsoft is set to launch Mesh for Microsoft Teams in 2022, enabling mixed reality for users, with the option to attend meetings as customized avatars and collaborate on projects through shared holographic experiences. Mesh for Microsoft Teams also gives companies the option to build immersive virtual environments and Microsoft describes the feature as “a gateway to the metaverse.”

Metaverse WT com homepage hero — Wunderman Thompsons Metaverse

Meta introduced Horizon Workrooms in August 2021. By connecting through virtual reality (VR), coworkers can collaborate and create together in the same virtual workspace. “Meet teammates across the table, even if you’re across the world—and transform your home office into your favorite remote meeting room,” Horizon Workrooms promises.

I can’t wait for the Metaverse to disrupt the way we work. Meeting with colleagues and clients in worlds like Microsoft Mesh. I am certain that, as a business as well as an employer, you need to be at the forefront of the metaverse to keep up with the digital transformation and to have a competitive edge in the war for talent.

Benjamin Birkelbach

Client Service Director Microsoft

Building branded virtual workspaces is gaining popularity. Breakroom by Sinespace, a “new social hub for remote teams,” launched in April 2020. The company can also set up a branded office within 24 hours. Gather launched the following month, and aims to make “virtual interactions more human.” Kumospace and gen-Z startup Branch operate in similar ways to Gather, focusing on heightening organic interactions using virtual rooms that mimic physical environments, where users’ avatars can move around, interact, and generate spontaneous moments.

As a company whose focus is on productivity, on knowledge workers, it’s something that customers are really asking us for, and it’s coupled with the vision of mixed reality that we’ve been working on for 12 years. It’s all coming together.

Alex Kipman

Microsoft technical fellow

Why this is interesting?

The way we connect, live and work is transforming thanks to the metaverse. The future of work will foster a hybrid setup for many, leading with virtual workspaces that generate new forms of creativity, collaboration and immersion.