Good morning ladies, gentlemen and those of non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi and today we have some pretty big news to analyse. I want you to picture the scene- I got up, showered, brushed my teeth and had breakfast when my ex-partner sends me a message telling me about something I thought was an April Fools’ practical joke. For context- I used to work at an IKEA in England. I worked there for over a year and whilst it was the most fun I’ve had in a job (until I started this one), the hours were long and the job was physically exhausting. Anyway… according to this message, you could work in a digital store recreated in a videogame, and get paid real money. Now I don’t think I’d get the job even if I applied, purely because I’d worked for IKEA before, but I thought I’d don my deerstalker and investigate.

Claim

You can work for IKEA in a recreation of their store on Roblox, and get paid real money.

Accuracy

True. Ikea is legitimately hiring people to work in an IKEA store that has been recreated on Roblox. If you’re wanting to know what each unpronounceable name is and what it makes when you get it home, then this is the job for you, and the best part is that you can effectively perform this job whilst sat in your pyjamas drinking coffee. They’re paying the London living wage, which is currently at £13.15 per hour, but there is a catch to what might seem the easiest job on the planet: You have to reside in the UK or Ireland. Sorry Americans and Australians, this is one just for us.

So: How does this work?

To do this, IKEA are launching their own game on Roblox on the 24th of June. The game is called “The Co-Worker Game”. Side note- the progression in IKEA isn’t as straightforward as other companies, and thus everyone is called a co-worker until you get to management. The game recreates every aspect of an IKEA store. From the cafe where they sell their meatballs that everyone seems to love to the “magical” store room where customers think they keep everything from the reserve stock to the holy grail, the world is literally your oyster. If you want to join in with this and work for IKEA on a video game, you need to have an up-to-date CV (what the UK calls a resume) and apply here: IKEA The Co-Worker (thecoworker.co.uk)

Flaws

Working from home has become something we are all familiar with since the virus we can’t talk about locked us all up in our homes since 2020. This is no different, being able to play a videogame for hours on end and getting paid for it. However, there is one gaping flaw in the plan I can see and that’s security. If the game gives you access to all areas of a digital store, does that mean potential customers can see what’s in the back? How do you go about removing said customers from the working areas not open to the public? Perhaps that’s the point. You see, there’s nothing worse than knowing that the sink on display is literally the last one, and then someone walks up to you and asks you to check the store room. You calmly and politely explain that there’s none of that particular item left, but then they ask you to check anyway.

So then, is this your dream job, or do you hate the idea? Let us know via our social media accounts.

For The Gamerhub, I’ve been Daibhi, and you are all legends.

Please be nice to IKEA workers, we’re usually overworked and tired.