Collaboration Potential in Virtual Reality Office Space : Transforming the Workplace of Tomorrow

The recent shift in labour markets has heightened the demand for alternative work arrangements. Virtual reality (VR) technology plays a significant role in this transition, with remote work as efficient as work performed from an organization's own office space. This book explores the impact of immersive VR technology on the new virtual workspace. Specifically, it examines how VR can enable employees to overcome the distractions associated with working from home, increase their visibility on team projects, build stronger relationships with co-workers, reduce feelings of isolation due to social distancing, and facilitate their engagement in collaborative work processes. It also explores the limitations of two-dimensional, computer-mediated communication tools for flexible working arrangements. It, thus, offers theoretical foundations for future research on office digitalization and subsequent applications of VR technology on office work. It also features the analysis of two dozen problem-centered expert interviews with creators and executives of leading productivity VR tools that enable the remote collaboration between knowledge workers.

Marko Orel works as the Head of the Centre for Workplace Research (CWER) and as an Assistant Professor at the Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic. His main research fields are organizational aspects of flexible and open workplaces, workers’ social aspects, and inter-organisational networks development. Throughout his career, Marko has developed a particular interest in immersive technologies that enable users to experience extended reality. His specific focus is on virtual reality, namely in the context of contemporary workplaces and forms of knowledge work. Marko currently lives between Ljubljana and Prague together with his wife and daughter but can be frequently found in different realities and virtual worlds.