Diðrik Steinsson has a vision of a future where virtual reality headsets can provide a more ideal work environment. MureVR is creating VR workplace environments that are designed to eliminate stress and increase productivity with the help of environmental psychologists.
There’s been a trend within the tech industry to replace isolated offices with more open environments. MureVR’s website cautions that, “the benefits of an open collaborative workspace are paid with concentration difficulty and less privacy as well as increased level of stress. This is the problem we aim to solve.”
Diðrik talks about collaborating with environmental psychologists to create VR environments that reduce stress, use the best colors depending on what task is being done, and creating tailored spaces that address specific needs and aesthetics.
One open question is how much the social stigma and perceived isolation of wearing virtual reality goggles will play out within the corporate environment. One the one hand, it may actually decrease unnecessary disruptions and allow people to be more focused and productive. One the other hand, there are potential negative perceptions and impact of using virtual reality headsets within an environment and context in which you’re expected to be social and interact with your co-workers as a part of the helping each other and sharing knowledge.
That said, anyone who works in an open office can attest to how much headphones are used to socially isolate yourself from the chaos of your surroundings, and so perhaps wearing a VR headset would just be another level of making it that much more explicit.
Listen in to our conversation we explore using VR to take breaks and increase productivity within your virtual workplace environment.
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