Imagine a world, where you don’t work from home but get your workplace to come home. Thanks to 5G communication networks and their potential to augment reality, we might just be on the brink of such a world. What this means is that the avatar of a doctor living in Seattle can assist in a surgery in Boston. A plant manager in LA can visit her factory in Mexico. Avatars of executives and professionals can transcend geography via 3D holograms that are beamed into conference halls, offices or homes. That’s just the basic changes we can expect with 5G networks. Here are some more explosive shifts that 5G brings to the work environment and culture we know today.
- 5G will redefine what we know as the workplace. We won’t be tied to geographic locations anymore. Even professionals who do tasks that require a physical presence will be able to work from remote locations.
- You will be able to work for multiple employers, since Virtual reality frees up so much of your time and resources. Professionals, executives and even surgeons who work long hours will essentially be able to join the gig economy.
- Productivity and efficiency will see an uptick. There are some jobs that are better done in person but are often assigned to a substitute in the interests of time and money. For instance, a plant manager can use virtual reality to check quality on her product at multiple factories all in the course of a day. This eliminates miscommunication, streamlines supply chain systems and improves overall performance.
- Work cultures will change dramatically. We’re looking at a work environment that completely eliminates real human to human interactions so relationships and power dynamics might change dramatically.
- Your boss has to figure out a way to keep you interested. The relationship between employers and employees will change, since professionals will have the ability to court multiple employers. Most companies will have to learn how to leverage 5G and virtual reality in order to retain their high performing employees.
- There is a real risk of burnout, abuse and poor mental health since many professionals will be expected to work around the clock.