- A virtual workplace with the same design as the real office will be created in the metaverse to provide a familiar work environment. 

- Employees can select cute animals as their sub-characters and check compatibility with others through MBTI personality types for fun.

- The service is to be introduced to employee interviews at CJ Telenix and the first-round hiring interviews of CJ OliveNetworks.

CJ OliveNetworks has officially released its new metaverse-based communication service, “Bridge Office.”

Bridge Office is a communication service developed by CJ OliveNetworks to enable participants to enjoy fun and meaningful communication in the metaverse environment. The company has leveraged its technological prowess and expertise to effectively support various forms of work amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Bridge Office allows Millennials and Gen Z employees, who make up 60% of the total employees of major Korean companies, to communicate with ease in a horizontal culture while working remotely, which facilitates swift decision-making, smooth collaboration, and deeper immersion. 

Conference rooms, halls, lobbies, and other places in the real offices have migrated to the virtual world of Bridge Office with the same designs, offering a familiar yet special experience for employees. 

In addition, employees can select cute animal characters such as a lion, panda, monkey, or zebra as their sub-characters to display when communicating with others, which softens the mood when in meetings. As a fun addition, they can share their MBTI personality types with colleagues to check their working compatibility.

Among the rooms in Bridge Office, the “Bridge Room” offers different features that serve various purposes, including votes and opinion cards for quick decision-making - not to mention conference calls, which is a must for a remote work environment. Opinions from a meeting are converted into a downloadable excel sheet, and whiteboards are provided for brainstorming sessions. 

The “Conference Hall” is a place where various interactions, ranging from small networking sessions to employee training, seminar, and other large events, can happen. Employees can “raise their hands” or chat to communicate with the host and enjoy networking sessions before and after events at a lobby connected to the Conference Hall. 

The Bridge Office also supports activities outside of work, such as small talks, coffee chats, and counseling sessions. Employees can overcome space constraints and communicate through various means of communication, including chat, video calls, voice chat, emojis, and gestures.

Bridge Office went through a pilot test with employees of CJ CheilJedang and CJ Foodville, and upgraded the service based on feedbacks from client companies. 

Bridge Office will be officially launched in CJ Telenix in early next month to support communication with remote workers, employee trainings and in-house events. The service will also be leveraged for mental counselling and training programs, especially for call center agents to boost their sense of stability.

Meanwhile, CJ OliveNetworks has created its headquarters in the metaverse using the same design as the real office and is now going through the first-round hiring interviews with candidates for the second half of 2022.

Lee Jin Ha, the team lead of Metaverse Business at CJ OliveNetworks, said Bridge Office is “a metaverse service with a human touch that resolves the issue of isolation and estrangement and offers a sense of immersion and belonging for remote workers.” Lee added that “we also have plans to expand the service to support communication from company to company or between companies and educational institutions.”