Uh Oh, Zuck: Study Shows Working in the Metaverse Lowers Productivity, Causes Anxiety

According to a recent report, volunteers who spent a week working in a virtual-reality environment similar to the metaverse proposed by Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook reported more anxiety, lower productivity, and suffering from migraines.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing for the development of a full digital metaverse, where people will work, game, and socialize in a virtual world powered by Facebook’s VR headsets. But a recent report from New Scientist found that volunteers who spent one week living in the metaverse were not thrilled about the concept.

Workers that spent a week in the metaverse for extended periods of time reported higher levels of anxiety, an increased perception of higher workloads, and some experienced adverse physical effects. The study was conducted by researchers from European institutions including Coburg University in Germany and Cambridge University in the UK.

16 universe staff and reserach participants spent their 35-hour workweek in normal, physical office spaces, and then another week doing the same workload in virtual reality. Researchers found that when it came to health and productivity, almost all participants reported “significantly worse ratings across most measures.”- READ MORE