New research has found growing concerns from workers that their employers will use the metaverse for surveillance.

According to a new survey from Pollfish and commissioned by ExpressVPN, which surveyed 1,500 employees and 1,500 employers in the US, around half the workers questioned had some concern about being under surveillance while working in the metaverse.

Since the pandemic, remote working has moved from a stop-gap solution to a permanent fixture for many offices. More than half of Scottish employers have seen an increase in hybrid working compared to pre-pandemic levels, with many seeing it as likely to continue in the future. The solution has proven popular with workers as well.

The metaverse has been touted as a way to bridge the gap between home and office work, mitigating some of the challenges that remote working presents while keeping the benefits. Employees can work from home but participate in a virtual office environment alongside avatars of their colleagues.

However, as the new study shows, many people have concerns about the drawbacks of working in a metaverse environment.

It noted that both workers (90%) and employers (88%) agree that technological advancements have allowed them to increase productivity and improve connections with their co-workers. Employees cite video conferencing (27%), and in-person meetings (19%) as the communication methods that make them feel most connected and engaged.

While employers agree when it comes to video conferencing (32%), they view the metaverse (17%) as the second-best method for staying connected with co-workers versus just 9% of employees.

Most employers report feeling excited (66%) and optimistic (54%) about the future of work in the metaverse. Whereas employees report feeling higher levels of anxiety (24%), suspicion (20%) and confusion (17%), signalling an overall level of hesitation.

However, one of the biggest concerns cited about the metaverse was its potential for workplace surveillance.

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Employee monitoring software has become a popular way for employers to keep an eye on their employees, and the metaverse will only increase the potential for surveillance activities. When looking at existing surveillance tactics, 73% of employers admit to currently surveilling their employees. 

The top concerns of employees related to workplace surveillance are the tracking of their real-time location (51%), real-time screen monitoring (50%) and time tracking (47%). Meanwhile, employers are most interested in recording workplace meetings (42%), time tracking (39%), tracking real-time location (39%) and screen monitoring (39%). 

“Given the reluctance of many workers to accept further surveillance in the workplace, employers should tread carefully when planning to implement further monitoring activities in virtual workspaces and consider whether they’re worth the potential loss of trust and satisfaction among their employees,” said ExpressVPN Vice-president Harold Li. 

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