DEMATERIALIZED OFFICE MAY BE A REALITY BY 2030

Before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, the idea of working and socializing from home was mainly a theoretical proposition. But less than a year later, that reality is suddenly the new normal for many of the world’s office workers. In the latest Ericsson IndustryLab study, “The Dematerialized Office”, early adopter white-collar employees in 16 countries, representing the views of around 133 million employees, were interviewed to gather their expectations about the future workplace. This report explores the future workplace, where senses such as touch, taste and smell are part of digital communications. This report is a follow-up to Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab last year’s “10 Hot Consumer Trends 2030: The Internet of Senses” study (December 2019)1, that explored the shift from a screen-based internet connectivity to an immersive experience resulting from our senses being connected in everyday life. In this latest report, the internet of senses is brought into the office in order to see how sensory connectivity through Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), 5G and automation can change the work situation for white-collar employees.

- Dr. Michael Bjorn

Imagine a virtual workplace that automatically changes depending on what you need to do. It might give you a big display when you are retouching a video, or a haptic keyboard and thesaurus for writing a report.

Imagine that by 2030 it has become commonplace to have a lifestyle involving working and socializing totally in virtual realms without ever physically leaving home.

As recently as last year, this seemed like a far-fetched futuristic fantasy. But truth is stranger than fiction. In early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic struck in full force and the idea of working and socializing from home was no longer a theoretical proposition. To the contrary, for many of the world’s office workers, it was suddenly the new reality.

This ‘new normal’ involves long workdays in front of a laptop in video meetings with colleagues and business relations. The internet has become a working lifeline, and it has functioned surprisingly well; by and large, professional activity has continued and the job has been done. For many, the internet saved the day, and as a result, online activity has grown quite significantly on a global scale.

Yet, many realize that one thing is sorely missing – the technology to make up for the presence and immersion of the physical world. Spending your whole day in front of a flat screen with flat sound doesn’t even come close to the real experience of a face-to-face business meeting. For a digital meeting to be as interactive as the real thing, communications technology would need to take a big leap forward.