Have hustle culture and technology left us grasping for more, only to end up with less? In the never-ending climb up to the summit of productivity, what have the detours and drops directed us to?

From remote meetings with virtual reality to open offices with pool tables and bean bags next to desks, the future of work is an unpredictable, bouncy path. Exciting and newsworthy, they grab our attention, offering a breath of fresh air from the old-school office—but are they effective? 

Working In Virtual Reality 

Technology conglomerate Meta imagines a world where employees gather virtually, across different cities and timezones, without offices or cubicles. The futuristic vision of work is immersive and interactive, fully equipped with hardware, software, and the internet to gather people in all but their physical presence. A meeting room can take any digital form. You might be able to customize a setting that has views of a beach in Mexico, the architecture of Paris, and the skyline of Tokyo. The possibilities are endless and untethered to reality. 

However, this vision may still be far from reality, virtual or not. Even the most advanced meeting and video conference technologies today still have users reporting performance bugs, and an overall uneasy feeling of disconnection, despite seeing and hearing the faces and voices of coworkers. 

What might be missing? Remote meetings offer a limited glimpse into the full extent of facial expressions and body language, which are more easily discernible in a three-dimensional interaction. And though virtual reality video may offer a 360-degree experience that a screen cannot, the timeline between where we are and what technologists envision is an uncertain number of years, even decades. The costs of the hardware and software, including headsets and an internet connection, may be infeasible and inaccessible for most organizations to implement. In addition to resources to acquire the systems, training will be required to ensure seamless adoption to see a return on investment.

Working In Open Offices

There are many who can imagine themselves disliking interactions with avatars of their coworkers and not their real selves. Open offices are popular for reportedly encouraging effective collaboration and communication. However, open offices have also been criticized for offering too much distraction and too little privacy.

The tried and true office cubicle setup is no stranger to criticism, but many of its critics, whose open office enthusiasms have waned, are becoming fans. Cubicles in Orange County are easy to ship and assemble, demanding little downtime to transform an office from open chaos to compartments of individual work focus. Cubicles limit visual distractions, allowing the hum and drum of the office to be heard without diverting one’s attention away.

With the dazzle and buzz of technology-infused work, it is easy to forget that cubicles have stood the test of time, from small businesses to Fortune 500 giants. So, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

For high-quality, fast-ship office furniture and cubicles, give Creative Office Design a call today.

Creative Office Design
5230 Pacific Concourse Dr #105, Los Angeles, CA 90045