Alex Thomas, Personal Memory Curator at Fleeting Spirits LLC, creates seamless virtual environments for elderly customers to inhabit via VR technology.
Criticized in recent times for their atmospheric world Roller Coaster 3: There’s No Going Home, Fleeting Spirits LLC has since invested nearly $223,000 into improving their company culture and workforce morale.
Last week, we reached out to Alex to learn how up-and-coming policy changes have impacted the workplace thus far.
“I’d say the biggest change, for me, has been using Slack. We’re constantly bouncing ideas off one another, and it’s awesome. I can’t help but feel the whole Roller Coaster 3 accident could’ve been avoided if someone had PM’d the right person for a second look.”
Alex’s desk is lined with an array of chachkies. Namely, Funko Pops and Lego Minifigures.
“I don’t have any children—not sure why you’d ask that. I’m all about this welcoming, stimulative space,” Alex says while repeatedly adjusting and removing the head of a policeman Minifig. “I hope people will walk by and experience a spark of energy, thinking ‘I’m the master of my own fate. I could finish Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief if I wanted to. It’s just not that good.’”
Literary opinions aside, Alex had a deeper query to share: “I’ve been here for four months, but is it too soon to change my profile picture from Jim Halpert to one of my baby photos?”
He bounces from side to side on a balance ball chair, another modern addition to the office available to all employees. A floor-to-ceiling cage with elastic bars holds the mass inventory of balls in the center of the open room.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my own mortality. Like, in Egyptian times every Pam, Erin, and Darryl got a mausoleum. My profile is my legacy, my crypt.”
He continues, “I want to be remembered for my charismatic qualities and ability to see-saw with glee. But, if I change it now, will my identity be lost in the Internet’s abyss entirely?”
It is easy to sympathize with Alex, especially since Fleeting Spirits LLC is still responsible for the eight Roller Coaster 3 customers that remain trapped in an irremovable VR stasis. Even more so, that these customers also share the floor with Alex and his team on a day-to-day basis. Free green juice and daily massages can only do so much to quiet the mix of cheers and jeers the Fixated Eight emit by the hour.
Before departing, Alex shared the see-saw photo with us and, while we must admit it is endearing, we can not say for certain whether changing one’s profile picture to a baby photo is either workplace appropriate or memorable.
Originally published on Eritas Daily. Image sourced from Pexels.
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