Working in Virtual Reality: Boosting Productivity Tips

Who is this for?

This article is ideal for designers, software developers, VFX artists, or anyone who spends extensive hours in front of multiple screens. If you’re not part of this group, it might seem less relevant, but feel free to read on if you’re curious about understanding how virtual reality in the workplace can transform productivity.

Introduction

Hello! I’m a software developer with a keen interest in boosting productivity. In this article, I’ll be sharing my 30-day experience of working in a virtual reality workplace. Some of you may already be familiar with virtual reality at work, but if you haven’t explored it yet, don’t miss out on this read.

Essentially, the process begins by connecting your VR headset to your computer. From there, you can transport yourself into different virtual environments—whether it’s snowy mountains or sunny beaches—and start working with multiple screens and be able to take advantage of many more features.

Challenges and Drawbacks of VR for Productivity

While working in a virtual reality workplace brings many benefits, I encountered only 2 drawbacks.

Headache, Sweat, Pressure on the head

After working for at least 8 hours a day, I experienced discomfort such as headaches, pressure on the head, and sweating, despite using a comfort strap on my VR headset.

Technical Issues

Although most applications worked smoothly, I did face some technical challenges. For instance, working wireless-mode can cause noticeable latency, but using a cable resolves this issue. Another setback is the virtual keyboard’s buggy behavior. Ideally, it should allow fast typing to enhance productivity, but it often lags or mis-hit keystrokes.

Environments for Better Focus

Mixed Reality Environments

In this mode, you stay in your real-world environment but will have added virtual screens and tools like whiteboards. If you’re looking to boost productivity without sacrificing your actual surroundings, this is a good option. It also allows for easier use of your physical keyboard.

Virtual Reality Environments

You can work in special designed spaces like beaches or mountains. You can join public or private rooms to e-meet other users, although public rooms can sometimes be distracting if others aren’t muted.

Potential Health Impacts

As virtual reality is a relatively new technology, there hasn’t been much long-term research on its health impacts. However, I want to touch on its effect on eye health based on my own research.

Spending hours in front of screens can make us more prone to myopia. In virtual reality, however, stereoscopic images offer 3D depth perception, allowing your pupils of the eyes to focus on distant objects. This could be beneficial for your eyes compared to traditional screen use, especially if you position virtual screens far from your virtual “location” and enlarge them. This is only an opinion, I’m not an health professional that’s why don’t take it as information.

My Choice

Immersed

I tested four different applications, but my favorite was Immersed. Here’s why:

Socialize

You can join public rooms, say hi, and e-meet others. You can also check out their profile cards before starting a conversation.

Screen Resolution & Latency

Despite adding four different screens to my environment, latency didn’t increase noticeably. The screens also appeared to have a higher resolution in this application.

Various Environments

Compared to other apps, Immersed offers a broader range of environments, which helps keep things fresh and engaging.

Whiteboard Feature

Although not essential, the whiteboard feature allows you to take down small notes, which can be quite handy.

Applications Tested

Please share any other applications in comments with me, if you think there is better application.

• Immersed
• Virtual Desktop
• vSpatial
• Big Screen

Conclusion

While I faced some discomfort during longer usage (up to 8 hours), I found balance by limiting my VR work time to around 4 hours per day. For those who require multiple screens and the ability to work on the go, a virtual reality workplace is an ideal solution, especially if you find yourself in physically distracting environments. Surprisingly, working in a virtual environment like a mountain gave me a boost in both mood and focus, something I didn’t expect before meeting with this technology.

One of the best detail for me was eliminating the clutter of windows and tabs. As a full-stack developer, juggling between front-end, back-end, and external terminals often results with distraction. VR minimized that problem, allowing me to stay organized and productive.

In conclusion, I consider myself lucky to have integrated VR into my workflow early on. If you need multiple screens, increased portability, and a productivity boost, I highly recommend exploring virtual reality at work.