What Opportunities and Challenges Does Metaverse Bring?

Many of us probably dream of taking off our masks, and soon that future is near. It’s as if we’ve only just adapted to the hybrid model and the idea of working from home and here is the metaverse promising to bring an avalanche of changes. From the way we communicate, meet, interview to how we identify the right candidates, life,  career and  our work style will continue to change. 

From this perspective, hybrid work seems to be the precursor to what will be, and we, the generation that has been through waves of pandemics and unprecedented technological innovation, are left to shape the future by the choices we make. Because, let’s not forget that the success of any innovation depends on how we relate to it and, not least, how we let it drive our lives.

Therefore, for those who had hoped that this journey would stop here, at the model of life and work they have created over the past two years, they should get used to the idea that the transformation continues. 

What are the challenges and how does this affect the job market? 

Rumour has it that the launch of metaverse and the name change of Facebook to Meta is meant to distract us from the challenges that the company is currently facing. However, the fact that over 160 companies are already on board working on metaverse proves that it is not just a concept but it is something that we will more likely be experiencing in the future.

With this in mind, Facebook has already announced that it will hire around 10,000 specialists across the European Union to work on the metaverse. 

Although most of the newly created jobs are of a technical nature, let’s not forget that they will be looking for people with experience in something that hasn’t been done before and with an equally unique combination of skills and abilities. So the opportunities for professional reconversion for those with transversal skills and openness to a new career path will be plenty.  

As organisations will continue to recruit and seek new solutions to reach the most suitable candidates, especially now that they have the ability to select from the international talent pool, HR processes seem to be among the first to embrace the metaverse.

In fact, Siemens and Hyundai have already used virtual worlds for hiring and managing staff, and other companies are sure to follow. What’s more, virtual job fairs have already been tested by companies looking for new talent, such as auditing firms.

In addition to engineers, fresh out of college and gaming enthusiasts familiar with the virtual world seem to be among the first to join this wave of change. For one thing, they definitely have an edge when it comes to openness to the style of work the metaverse offers, but they also have some of the digital skills that are in demand. 

Then, let’s not forget, some of those who will graduate from college in the next few years are students whom the pandemic has forced to embrace virtual school, which can make them good candidates for the jobs that metaverse brings. Perhaps they will choose to spend even more time in the metaverse and be less willing to try the classical style of work. 

The student years, once spent in the classroom with peers and teachers and which shaped you as an adult precisely because you left your parents’ nest, have been snatched away by restrictions. It remains to be seen what the impact has been on the knowledge, connection and communication skills and the mental and emotional health of this generation

For many of the organizations out there, the challenge will be about how to create cohesion in teams composed of such different generations. After all, the risk of creating an even greater divide between the desk-bound employees and the web-educated new joiners does exist.

Obviously, like any innovation, it involves additional costs and investments as well as losses and gains and the long term impact cannot be fully anticipated just yet. In fact, we are starting from scratch as we need to set new directions. We are challenged  to redesign our business model and processes while having to identify the emerging training, hiring and learning needs.

In the meantime, we can start from what we already know: that technology, while helping us to get on with our work, has intensified mental and emotional problems. Many have failed to create a balance between online and offline life, others lost connection with themselves or lived more isolated lives and chose to escape the unpleasant reality of this period by spending time in the virtual world.

For all the above challenges, the metaverse does not seem to come up with concrete solutions. That is why those who start early can take advantage of the opportunities that this new era brings and will not be taken by surprise.