Ask a Futurist: The biggest misconception about the future of work

We all have questions about what’s next in the fast-changing world of work. By examining current trends and market signals, a workforce futurist can give you answers.  

Enter our Ask a Futurist series, where workforce futurist Alexandra Levit will answer pressing questions crowdsourced from Dayforce social media polls.   

Let’s dive into this edition’s question and Alex’s answer.  

What’s the biggest misconception about the future of work? 

I believe the biggest misconception we have about the future of work is that we will continue to operate in a mostly physical work environment. The reality is likely quite different.  

The metaverse, which is the convergence of physical and virtual space, augmented reality, and mixed reality, has existed in the gaming world for decades. Today, it’s an industry worth hundreds of billions globally. 

In 2025, the metaverse isn’t part of work life for the vast majority of people. It’s mostly gamers who are comfortable creating digital characters and moving them manually through a 3D space. But to be fair, metaverse platforms are still too clunky and non-immersive to be widely appealing in a work environment. And in a not-small number of people, the current platforms cause cybersickness symptoms including nausea, headaches, and vestibular disturbance.  

Nevertheless, we are likely to clear these hurdles in the next decade or so. When that happens, the metaverse will take its place as a routinely used work environment that greatly enhances productivity.  

It’s not difficult to see why it’s appealing. We already see valuable metaverse applications in use by large public and private sector organizations, including those related to risk management, disaster preparedness, surgical training, urban planning, and product research and development.  And the more sophisticated the platforms become, the more widely accessible and leveraged they will be.  

Now that you have some insight into what’s coming, I advise you to be a metaverse pioneer. Perhaps purchase some virtual real estate from Decentraland or The Sandbox and encourage your employees to experiment with it. Note that you’ll need to pay for your space using cryptocurrency. If you’re wary of the investment, you probably shouldn’t be. As the metaverse grows larger and more connected, these properties are likely to increase in value. 

As with any emerging technology, it can be hard to know where to start. Even something as simple as hiring a VR gaming expert to guide you can prove fruitful. There are likely all kinds of current applications to your business you haven’t even thought about. And when you dip your toe in with a basic operation, it provides space and opportunity to consider bigger picture issues such as interoperability with your existing tech infrastructure and managing user data security and privacy. 

My advice is not to be scared of this development, but curious and intrigued. Imagine being one of the very first people to work and play in an entirely new form of human existence!