Sir, – Even with the recent transport disruption caused by the snow, many office workers were able to work from home and log into their office networks. In recent years, many companies have begun efforts to facilitate arrangements to work from home, with varying levels of success and enthusiasm.
One of the main drawbacks cited by critics of working from home is the lack of face-to-face interaction between employees. However, as advancements in technology and in particular virtual reality (VR) continue to progress at pace, surely we are not too far away from a time when instead of travelling to a physical office, we simply don our VR headsets from the comfort of our homes, and transport ourselves to a virtual office, where our own virtual avatars can meet and greet colleagues, attend meetings and perform our regular duties, only from within this VR realm rather than a bricks and mortar office. Employees could personalise their own avatars, desks and window views, and there would be no restrictions on size or layout, with offices fully customisable at the click of a button. Apart from the obvious cost savings of no longer requiring physical office space, this would also free up much-needed land for residential housing.
If Ireland is looking towards 2040 and truly sees itself as a country at the forefront of technological advancement, then perhaps the current spate of physical office construction could be seen as ill-judged? – Yours, etc,
ROBERT CHADWICK,
Ringsend, Dublin 4.