I can picture offices remaining empty for years on end, while meanwhile all sorts of economic, infrastructural, etc. disasters pile up.

That is not the fault of NOTA. That scenario is demonstrating that no candidate is capable in receiving the consent of the majority. Its like the doctor telling you that you have cancer and you decide the best course of action is to stop seeing the doctor.

In this case perhaps the electoral system needs to change to a PR system. NOTA is still required in that system.

In a simplified hypothetical PR system as an example, the percentage of people choosing NOTA will result in that percentage of seats remaining empty in the legislature, all automatically counted as a vote against any new legislation.

Obviously parties would be allocated seats according to the percentage of their votes. However, the legislature is incentivised to minimise the number of empty seats, and in this case they will be forced to work together to maximise the common good.

Without NOTA you cant have real democracy. Real democracy will inevitably lead to the maixmisation of the common good.

I don't think your scenario is realistic, as voters live with the consequences of their actions, so they would inevitably vote in their best interests anyway.

Is it the same as leaving the circle beside all the candidates as empty or is NOTA something that forces the parties to change their platforms?

It would be an additional option on the ballot. It should be used, not just when you don't have anyone for whom you wish to vote, but if the election does not guarantee you with an adequate representative.

The election is held solely for the voter and to expect them to give their consent when they are not guaranteed adequate representation is a ludicrous situation if you think about it.

If more than 50% choose that option, the election would be re-run, and parties would have to dig into the reasons why people held their consent, and change either the candidate, or policy platforms to prevent that from happening in the re-run.

Even if the number of voters choosing NOTA did not meet that 50+% threshold, it will still provide feedback on the level of public dissatisfaction that is clear and unambiguous, which is invaluable information to those who wish to serve the public.

In future elections candidates would compete with one another to minimise the number of voters going into the NOTA bloc, so there will be a continuous pressure for good governance.

I realise I went well beyond the scope of your question, but I think the answer provides valuable background on the topic. I hope so anyway.