There are many technologies that we take for granted in the workplace today. If you’re under 40, you probably don’t remember a time when having access to a computer was not a guarantee and you had to communicate through memos and faxes rather than emails. It was a simpler time, but it meant things took much longer and many simple tasks we give little thought to today would be a major chore.
Take, for example, this scenario. You’re in a meeting and your boss asks you to find the names of five local companies that can quote for producing some new printed T-shirts for an upcoming promotional campaign.
In the 1980s, you would have gone away, pulled out the local Yellow Pages, and covered your hands in paper cuts and ink as you sifted through the options. Then, you’d have had to call each one individually, explain what you needed over the phone, and have them calculate a quote by hand and read the numbers back to you. It would have taken hours.
Today, however, you can simply do a quick Google search for T-shirt printers near me and be presented with a huge list of options. You could even find guides that explain the different factors you should consider when buying custom clothing, including sustainability, delivery time, and how to determine the quality of their work. Once you’ve settled on a few, you can simply request a quote online and have several emailed to you before you’ve even finished the meeting.
This is just one example of many as technology has touched just about every area of the workplace over the last few decades. And many of these technologies have often been pioneered by the gaming industry first.
Mobile Devices
Depending on your job and whether you have to deal with emails from your boss at 9 p.m., you may love or loathe the fact that many modern jobs require you to use mobile devices in some form. However, the fact is, they’ve revolutionised the way we work.
For those who are never fixed to a desk, a smartphone means you can get in touch with the office, respond to emails, and get things done faster and without the hassle of having to travel back to base.
Surveyors and assessors also have it much easier. Instead of completing paper forms at each site or property they visit and then typing their findings up later, they just create a digital record there and then, saving hours each week.
But these devices got their start in the world of gaming. Today, you don’t give much thought to the convenience of being able to play your favourite titles from anywhere, but that hasn’t always been possible.
Gamers in the 1980s had to make do with one-trick pony devices like the Nintendo Game & Watch, but their popularity made it possible for developers to create more complex systems like the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable.
Today, we all play from our smartphones with just about every type of game available. One of the most popular categories is classic card games, with demand driven by online casinos like PokerStars Casino that have developed different variants of traditional options to provide players with more of a challenge. For example, the blackjack insurance mechanic that can be found in some variants creates an additional strategic element as players can use a second wager to hedge against a loss on the first.
Had it not been for pioneers like Nintendo and Sony, the landscape could be very different today.
Photo by James Yarema
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Talk about the metaverse has been dampened dramatically in the last year or so as all of the promises of a new digital realm for us to explore have been found to be severely over-egged.
But while a digital living room where you can watch TV in virtual reality while you sit inside your real living room with a small TV strapped to your face hasn’t (perhaps, unsurprisingly) taken off, the virtual reality technologies that made this possible have proven popular for gaming and work.
Gaming is what drove the development of the original Oculus and HTC headsets in the early 2010s and the Virtual Boy in the 1990s. Today, Meta’s Quest range focuses heavily on gaming but has begun drifting towards the enterprise market too.
Working in VR could have a lot of benefits, including a more immersive remote meeting experience and the ability to have huge screens to work from, even when you don’t have a big desk. However, AR is proving more useful at the moment.
Headsets for engineers, warehouse operatives, and even surgeons are being tested and rolled out at many businesses. These devices add a layer of digital graphics over the real world, rather than painting over it like a VR headset would.
This can make warehouse wayfinding quicker, safer, and easier. It can also make it easier for engineers and doctors to get access to vital information while they carry out their intricate work.
But had gamers not craved a more immersive environment to play in, this may not have made it to the workplace.
Feature photo by: ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash
