Avatars in the office already a reality

Just as the paraplegic star character of the blockbuster film Avatar assumed a surrogate alien Na’vi body for his mission on the moon Pandora, you too can perform your job functions by connecting to your workplace via an extension of your physical self. Before you get all excited, no you may NOT walk into your office in a blue humanoid body, however you can connect to your workplace using a virtual depiction of yourself.

It’s not as far-fetched as it may sound, as thousands of employees already connect to their offices using avatars. Research conducted by the Harvard Business Review has shown how employees at American companies like IBM, Accenture, Cisco, State Farm, Intel, BP and Wells Fargo connect to virtual spaces to interact with their colleagues, and carry out their daily work functions. It makes perfect sense to use an avatar too. For one, its more convenient and less expensive to meet in a virtual world than it is to physically trek to the office, shake hands and sit down with real live people. It’s the same real live people on the other end, its just that you don’t have to share germs or burn petrol to get work done!

The Harvard Business Review lists the reasons why virtual workspaces powered by avatars should be the norm.