Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Spacex, said telecommuting was no longer acceptable for Tesla workers in May. According to Qatalog and GitLab, remote workers spend extra time each week trying to prove they are online and working to their employers. But metaverse environments, a futuristic approach to telecommuting solutions, also raise concerns for workers about the ability of their bosses to monitor their actions.
Elon Musk’s reluctance to work remotely, “Digital Presenteeism” seen as a problem
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Spacex, is not a fan of telecommuting. In a leaked memo addressed to Tesla workers, Musk stated that telecommuting was no longer acceptable, telling them they had to spend 40+ hours in the company’s facilities weekly or face being fired. Musk even criticized other companies that allow remote work, saying they hadn’t shipped an amazing product in “a while.”
New data indicates that Musk’s concerns are not unfounded. According to a study completed by Qatalog and GitLab, “digital presenteeism” is becoming a problem. The concept refers to a group of actions that remote workers perform – in addition to their regular work – to show their superiors and colleagues that they are actually working during the day. The study found that remote workers spend 67 minutes on such tasks every day, which means that more than 5.5 hours a week are spent in this way.
However, metaverse-based work, a new way of doing remote work, also presents its own difficulties.
Workers fear being monitored in the metaverse
With the rise of the metaverse as a new technology, some companies are experimenting with bringing remote workers into a workplace metaverse. However, according to a survey published by Expressvpn, this approach also has its associated disadvantages, causing concern among some workers.
The survey, which surveyed 1,500 workers and 1,500 employers in the US, found that 63% of employees are concerned about the possibility of their employers collecting data while working in the metaverse. Similarly, surveillance is also a key concern, with 51% of these workers fearing their employers collecting real-time location data, and 50% concerned about real-time screen monitoring.
Workers who are more concerned with these issues are those who come from companies with more than 500 employees. Other experiments have been done regarding the use of metaverse technology for remote work. Researchers at Coburg University, University of Cambridge, University of Primorska and Microsoft Research found that current metaverse technology is still not prepared to support remote work applications.
What do you think of Elon Musk’s opinion on telecommuting, and the metaverse alternative? Tell us in the comments section below.
Sergio Goschenko
Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. Describing himself as late to the game, he entered the cryptosphere when the price surge occurred during December 2017. He has a computer engineering background, lives in Venezuela and is influenced by the cryptocurrency boom on a social level, offering a different point of view on crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.
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