As the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus poignantly stated, "change is the only constant in life." And without a doubt, the world has experienced a lot of change over the past two years. This is especially true for businesses, where pandemic-driven lockdowns forced company executives to rethink and completely retool the way their organizations operate. As a result, in-person was out, and digital nomadism became the norm for many businesses.

However, now that the pandemic’s wiles seem to be waning, more and more companies are mandating that employees return to the office. According to research conducted by Microsoft, 50% of business leaders surveyed said their company already requires or is planning to require employees to return to in-person work full-time this year. In sharp contrast to this, the report also found that 52% of workers are thinking of switching to a full-time remote or hybrid job in 2022. The findings are the result of a survey that took place between January and February 2022 that included 31,000 people from 31 countries.

The Commute is Becoming a Thing of the Past

This makes one thing very clear; in most cases, leadership’s plans are in stark contrast to employee wishes when it comes to a return to the office. And according to Dating Group’s chief investment officer, Bill Alena, the situation has been brewing for some time.

“COVID is the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back,” said Alena. “But workers have been wanting to do away with the office commute for quite some time. This is especially true for digital natives; those born into the connected world and that spend most of their waking hours on devices. To them, commuting to an office each day seems absurd.”

Dating Group is a subsidiary of Social Discovery Ventures (SDVentures), which is a global technology company focused on connecting people through social discovery and designing Social Life 3.0. The company has an ARR of more than $300 million and employs more than 700 people, all of which now work remotely. Company executives understood the benefits of this, even before the pandemic hit.

“In early 2019, we made a business decision to become a completely office-free enterprise,” said Alena. “We closed all our offices, which spanned dozens of locations across 10 different countries and transformed our 700-employee enterprise into the first fully remote global organization within our industry. And embracing a digital nomad culture has produced amazing results for both our business and our employees.”

A New Generation, a New Mindset  

Dating Group seems to have addressed an important pain point, especially with younger workers. According to a recent ADP Research Institute report, 71% of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 said that if their employer insisted they return to the office full-time, they would consider looking for a new job. 64% of the total workforce held this same opinion. The findings were based on a survey of 32,000 workers from 17 different countries.

“No matter how many snacks, gaming pods or other perks companies added to the list, the thought of commuting for hours on end to toil in a cubical farm makes little sense to today’s workforce,” added Alena. “It’s not that they don’t want to work; they just want to work and live in a more symbiotic way. And as we listened to our colleagues, partners and new recruits, the case for a reimagined workplace began to make perfect sense.”

According to Alena, the first thing Dating Group executives had to do was change their corporate mindset. They had to embrace the fact that the company was going to become 100% remote. No more investments in real estate and office space, those investments will now be focused completely on supporting the company’s digital transformation. And one area the company is planning to invest heavily in is the metaverse.

An Extension of Digital Nomad Work Culture

“We see the metaverse as a natural extension of what we are already doing,” said Alena. “However, instead of a Slack channel or Zoom meeting, our staff will be connecting and collaborating within a shared, virtual space that is persistently online and active. And we are going to invest a significant amount of time and resources to creating that space.”  

When asked about how employees were warming up to the idea of one day working in the metaverse, Alena shared that the overall sentiment was extremely positive. But he also noted that it will be an effort that evolves in form and functionality over time. More specifically, Alena said that executives assured staff that they wouldn’t have to wear VR headsets all day for work any time soon.

“We are going to remain 100% true to our digital nomad culture,” added Alena. “As such, investing early in the metaverse makes perfect sense to our leadership and our teams. But transitioning completely to the metaverse will not happen immediately. It could take years for the technology and workplace norms to align.”

Lenovo is another enterprise that’s found positive sentiment among workers regarding the prospect of working in the metaverse. In a November survey of 7,500 working adults across the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Singapore, China and Japan, the company found that 44% of employees are prepared to work in the metaverse, compared to 20% who say they are unwilling to work with the technology, 21% who are neutral and 15% who are not sure.

The Metaverse is the Path Forward

Now that people have experienced the benefits of working remotely, companies will risk a backlash if they try to force their staff back into offices. Take for example the debacle Apple (News - Alert) and others have gotten themselves into with their attempts. Instead, employers should invest their time and money into systems and processes that enable their teams to work remotely more easily. The pandemic has proven that businesses can survive and even thrive while working remotely.      

Recent history suggests that remote employees work much more efficiently and effectively, especially if they are supported with the right technology. The ability to organize their working day in their own way and work from anywhere in the world makes employees happier, which significantly improves productivity and reduces staff turnover. And with the metaverse, this becomes even easier to achieve. But it all starts with step one, going remote.  

“Two years ago, we set out with the audacious goal of creating a workforce that was 100% remote,” said Alena. “We focused our efforts on developing a culture of nomadism, where our employees can work and live in any location they choose. They can now go out and see and experience the world. And soon we will all be able to meet in the metaverse and share those amazing experiences as we work.”