January 17, 2008 by Nobody Fugazi
Posted in
LinuxInsider has a nice two part article on the Virtual World Workforce, which is not something that has been on my radar because... I've been an independent contractor too long, perhaps. Part one, Virtual World Workforce, Part 1: Promising the World covers the more well known aspects, such as the learning curve. Of course, everyone fails to recognize that everyone already inworld consistently raises the bar of what one has to know to interact.
Part two, Virtual World Workforce Part 2: Real-Life Pitfalls really presses a few things home that I had not considered. Consider this:
...Real-World Laws
In addition, employee recruiting and management professionals know all too well that theirs is a highly regulated field, and for good reason. What they may not know is that the laws on the books designed to prevent employment discrimination can present some unique challenges in virtual worlds, Charles Handler, CEO and founder of employee assessment and screening company Rocket-Hire.com, told LinuxInsider.
Legally, the cloak of an avatar can cut both ways, Handler noted. For example, people can choose the physical appearance, body type and clothing of their Second Life personas to reflect their real-life existence or not. So, the appearance of an avatar might not reflect that the person behind it is a member of a class protected in employment interactions, he explained. A person doesn't need to divulge age or race information in an employment interview, and an avatar might make it more possible to keep that irrelevant information out of the situation altogether.
On the other hand, employers have a responsibility to keep interactions with prospective employees consistent, Handler noted. That's not always possible when moving from real-world rooms to virtual-world ones, he explained. For instance, an assessment that attempts to measure a candidate's skills in a particular area might not be the same when offered on paper as it is when administered in a virtual world...
So, in this way there is greater potential for 'equal opportunity' related initiatives - but it also comes with the pitfalls of not being truly able to assess someone's abilities. And what Laws apply to these things? It would be part of the Law of the country that the person was being hired in, or for? I'm not sure.
Since I deal exclusively with contracts and subcontracting, employment issues aren't at the top of my stack of things to look into- but for those who are involved with hiring or being hired, this is a rich topic worth exploring. But then, using Voice in an interview instead of text chat could be considered a way to reveal a handicap such as (but not limited to) hearing impairment. Suddenly, alot of accessibility Laws become more relevant outside of Federal employment.
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Is working in SL employment?
Thanks for an interesting post, Nobody...
I wonder, though, if "working" in Second Life is really working. I suppose it raises the old question of whether or not SL is really a game, and in fact, if you are a greeter, or a host, or whatever in SL, are you in fact just role playing?
We know that LL has in the past stuck to the fiction that Lindens are not a real currency, it seems more and more clear that with every new policy they make that impacts the economy, they are more and more conscious of Lindens convertibility into real cash.
So, in addition to the complicated questions about equity in the workplace (and defining exactly what the workplace is!), do we have to start thinking about wages? Is working in SL really working? Do we need fair pay for work? In Ontario, where I live, the minimum hourly wage would be equivalent to about $2750 Lindens. If I could get a greeter job at "Twinks are us!" for 2750L an hour, I might have to rethink the whole land biz option...
This would put a bit of a damper on the SL economy, don't you think?
DD
Not working 'In' Second Life
The article is about hiring people through interviews in Second Life.
Second Life Consultant
working
i know... I was diverging... lol Also, it flows from the comment Dave made...
*looks for her Ritalin*
Employment Laws
I'm actually an employment lawyer and the CEO of VRWorkplace so I have done this kind of work for years. I'm in no way giving legal advice here, but I think your points are largely correct. But I'm much more interested in the role employment law will play in the context of truly virtual working. An easy example that exists today: You hire a greeter to welcome guests at your SL facility. True enough, you can't discriminate based on physical disability etc, but there are in my opinion larger issues. Where in the world is that greeter physically sitting? Yes, the laws of that jurisdiction will likely apply to your relationship with that person. Will the law of that place consider the relationship to be employment? If so, will wage laws apply? What about benefits laws? Or pension laws? As we move from "playing a game" to inventing a platform for real work (see "Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds" by Forrester) are we being lured into a sort of trap? You can't "hire" someone in the US, for example, and not be subject to some sort of minimum wage -- $100L simply will not do in most cases. Again, not legal advice, just one man's observations.
Dave Elchoness
VRWorkplace
Cool! Thanks Dave
I really appreciate your comment as a specialist in the field.
Second Life Consultant
WHY WRITE THIS?
HMMMMMMMM
more reason than you wrote that.
Which was, of course, to troll. Who are you, Prokofy Neva? :-)
Ahh, no you're not. Your IP address is from Chicago.
Second Life Consultant