Companies need to clearly address this from the beginning. Mudd recommends holding orientation sessions for relevant staff before starting a virtual reality project to ensure that the employees understand that they are representing the company, and to establish what kinds of behaviors are expected of them. “Some companies might have a looser conduct code than others,” he said. “Some might want all their employees dressed in suits and ties in a virtual world, just as in the real world, while others might have a more casual dress code.”
But even in environments that are used only by employees and are not open to the public, behavioral issues can occur and must be taken into account. “You have the same risks that you do in a physical workplace,” he said. “Someone can’t physically touch an individual in this virtual space, but someone might say something that they might not otherwise say in the workplace that might get them-and their employer-into trouble.”