REDMOND, Wash.–The elimination of the daily commute has been the one bright spot of working from home for many. Yet Microsoft has just announced plans to help bring it back.
Microsoft reported it is developing an update to its Teams package of workplace collaboration tools to replace the lost commute to and from work for many.
“The daily commute may have caused its share of headaches, but it at least helped workers define a start and end to their workday while offering a set time to think away from the demands and distractions of the home and office,” observed the Wall Street Journal.
“That positive side of the commute is what Microsoft hopes to re-create.”
According to Microsoft, the Teams update in 2021 will let users schedule virtual commutes at the beginning and end of each shift. “Instead of reliving 8 a.m. or 6 p.m. packed subway rides or highway traffic jams in virtual reality, users will be prompted by the platform to set goals in the morning and reflect on the day in the evening.
The virtual commute feature represents Teams’ move into employee wellness, Kamal Janardhan, general manager for workplace analytics and MyAnalytics at Microsoft 365, the parent division of Teams, told the Journal.
Making Well-Being a Priority
“Enterprises across the world right now are coming to us and saying, ‘I don’t think we will have organizational resilience if we don’t make well-being a priority,’” Janardhan was quoted as saying. “I think we at Microsoft have a role, almost a responsibility, to give enterprises the capabilities to create these better daily structures and help people be their best.”
The introduction of virtual commutes comes as Microsoft looks to make its Teams product more competitive with rivals such as Zoom, according to the report.
The Journal reported the virtual commute feature is designed to help people mark the start and end of their working day, a more difficult prospect for those working at home. Half of the chat volume on Teams occurred between 5 p.m. and midnight in the past six months, up 48% from the months before the pandemic, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft said the virtual commute home will present users with their list of tasks for the day, and ask them to move uncompleted jobs to the next day’s list. The system celebrates completed tasks with messages such as “Way to go!”
Five Facial Expressions
It then asks users to describe how the day went by selecting one of five facial expressions ranging from elated to frustrated, the Journal reported.
Janardhan told the Journal the evening experience relies on one-click options because anything that feels like more cognitive effort would make people less likely to complete it—particularly at the end of the day. It ends in an optional 10-minute guided meditation produced by Headspace, the mindfulness and meditation app.