Summary

Ikea has announced that it is hiring ten people to run its virtual store inRoblox, who will work in different areas of the store helping pick out furniture for customers and serve meatballs in the Bistro.

It seems like every month we’re getting closer and closer toa disturbingly dystopian future, with companies such as Disney, Epic Games, and Meta obsessed with bringing our daily lives into the online realm. We can now add Ikea to that growing list of companies, as it recently took a big step towards some kind of Ready Player One nightmare world by announcing that it’s hiring ten people to sit and run its virtual store that’s being set up inside Roblox.

A store with various items on the shelfs and a big Ikea logo on a blue wall

First spotted byBloxz Mediaon Twitter, this store is being set up as part of a “Careers Done Different” campaign to try and show younger people the possible career paths available at Ikea. Putting aside the slightly questionable morality of trying to recruit children at such a young age, those that are hired will be tasked with helping people pick out their furniture if they’re assigned to the Showroom, or serving meatballs to customers if they’re working in the Bistro.

Ikea Is Hiring People To Run A Virtual Roblox Store

On theIkea The Co-Workerwebsite, it explains that workers will be paid £13.15 / €14.80 an hour, be able to move departments, and can even be promoted. All you need to do to apply is fill out a form with questions as soul-searching as “How do you feel about being turned into pixels?” and “What would you do if we ran out of pixelated hot dogs in our bistro?” It all has a very “how do you do, fellow kids” vibe to it.

Thankfully, the position is only available to those over the age of 18, which is probably for the best consideringRoblox has been criticized for potential child exploitation in the past. The position is also only open to people inside the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland, but at least it’s remote. That’s kind of implied, given you’ll be earning a wage to play Roblox, which is a sentence that doesn’t sound any less strange no matter how many times I run it through my head. Then again, this is the same company that thoughtRoblox “dating experiences” was a good idea.