--- title: "People Forced to “Go to Work” in the Metaverse Say It’s a Complete Nightmare" description: "According to the people actually already working — or attempting to work — in the Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse, there are a lot of issues." date: "2023-01-19" modified: "2023-01-19" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/work-metaverse-complete-nightmare" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "mark zuckerberg" - "Meta" - "metaverse" - "the digest" --- # People Forced to “Go to Work” in the Metaverse Say It’s a Complete Nightmare ![According to the people actually already working — or attempting to work — in the Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse, there are a lot of issues.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Future of Work In an apparent attempt to both appeal to the broader public and ink every corporate partnership fathomable, [Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg]() has put a lot of effort into marketing his [expensive metaverse]() as the future of work. Tech is already integral to the modern workplace, and a lot of people already work fully remote or hybrid schedules — why *not* join your coworkers in virtual or augmented reality, where you and your [legless torso]() can have 12 computer screens? "The feeling of presence that you get from VR, even today," Zuckerberg declared during his [Connect 2022 keynote speech](), "can already be better than what you get in video chat." In theory, it's not a ridiculous pitch. But alas, according to the people actually already working — or attempting to work — in the Meta's Horizon Worlds mostly-unrealized metaverse, the Zuckerverse [doesn't exactly offer]() that "feeling of presence" quite yet. "I am totally immersed in the metaverse, have a big headset on, and then I need to take off the Oculus, look on my phone for the two-factor authentication code that's been sent to my phone, then memorize the number, put my headset back on, and try to key it in," an employee at the tech-consulting firm Accenture, a [major Meta funder]() that's attempting to implement Oculus into the workspace, [griped to *Slate*](). "But when you take off the Oculus it automatically goes to sleep mode, and I was trying to navigate the back-and-forth." ## Con City Also speaking to *Slate*, other workers attempting to get the job done in metaverse workspaces experienced similar woes. "Between forgetting to charge headsets, operating system updates, new app installation/updates, logging into accounts, screensharing between desktop and headset," David Stern, founder and CEO of the Slate Group's Supporting Cast podcast platform, told *Slate*, "there's just a lot that can go wrong." Workers also told *Slate* that there are some glaring accessibility issues, particularly for those with disabilities like motion sickness. And once someone actually gets into their digital workspace, the problems don't end — even just figuring out basic social cues and conventions is apparently pretty difficult, and most of *Slate's* sources seemed to agree that any merits of current VR work fail to outweigh the many reported downsides. Anyway. Sounds terrible, at least for now. While we unfortunately can't attend meetings [as whatever these things are](), we're happy to clack away on our measly little laptops for a while longer. **READ MORE:** *[The Often Maddening, Always Surreal Experience of Work Meetings in VR]()* \[*Slate*\] **More on the metaverse:** *[John Carmack Quits Job Building Metaverse, Blasts Facebook]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()