Meet me in VR! Can VR space help remote teams connect: A seven-week study with Horizon Workrooms

• Published in: International journal of human-computer studies 2023-11, Vol.179, p.103104, Article 103104
• Main Authors: Abramczuk, Katarzyna, Bohdanowicz, Zbigniew, Muczyński, Bartosz, Skorupska, Kinga H., Cnotkowski, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Digital transformation; Remote teams; Remote work; VR collaborative space; VR meetings; Zoom fatigue
• ISSN: 1071-5819; 1095-9300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103104

In 2020, office life switched abruptly toward a remote work model. Office meetings have since moved to virtual spaces. Unfortunately, remote video meetings have become associated with declines in engagement, collaboration, and learning, as well as ‘Zoom fatigue’. In this article, we study the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology as a solution to these problems and as a medium to enrich remote work environments. For seven weeks, we collected data on the meetings of a team of eighteen knowledge workers. For five of those weeks, the meetings were organized in VR. We used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to gather feedback on those sessions and to compare them with a regular video conferencing baseline. Our results demonstrate that both technologies have applications in the work environment—albeit in different situations. We provide best-practice guidelines for the use of VR by remote teams and present design implications for VR collaborative spaces. •VR meetings can enrich remote work environments.•VR collaborative spaces are well-suited to social events, brainstorming, and seminars.•Participants who join VR meetings via video, without avatars, might feel excluded.•Practicality is the greatest concern for remote teams switching to VR meetings.•Meeting in VR leads to higher social presence, but not group development.