Expected to start teams meetings?

You're supposed to attend the meeting when it gets to the correct time on your clock, or a couple of minutes before, so whoever is first just starts or everyone would be waiting for everyone else in group meetings. He now has told you to start it so there's no confusion moving forward and so you don't fuck it up again in future.

You, as the junior person in a new job, should always be early. Never late. If you sit there waiting for someone on a call that's what you're being paid to do. Guessing or controlling other people will lead to disaster.

HTH.

Yes you (generic you) always start the meeting at the alloted time. Perhaps he didn't mean you specifically just generally you always go into a meeting at the start time no matter who is there.

You didn't understand another explanation, if boss is in another meeting and you start this one, this gives him the option to say to his existing meeting, "sorry I have to run, my other meeting has started."

It would be wise to take your manager's cue and not question everything all the time you're new.

He's your boss. He decides the rules of what you do for your job - what you're being paid to do.

Just join the call on time

I understand what you mean OP, my manger was the same when I first started but if I started the meeting on time they would generally message and say they were late and either postpone the meeting or cancel.

Now I’m a bit more senior I understand how it was for them to forget meetings when you have so many. I would hope that those more junior would start the meeting as a prompt if I havent already

OP your responses have me giggling. 🤣🤣 don’t let them wind you up so easily.

The whole thing is just silly. Just join the meeting at the start time (both of you), rather than waiting to see when someone is free.

His idea is that he’s busier/more senior so you should be joining and waiting for him. When he joins, you should already be present and ready to start.

I wonder if you’re my new starter? I’m often a couple of mins late to meetings with my new starter - as other calls overrun and tbh, I'm prioritising a client escalation call over them. I don’t like to do that but it is what it is. I would expect them to be ready and waiting on the call when I finish up, and I’ll always generally msg fo say I’m overrunning. If they have another call and are also overrunning I’d expect them to message me.

the shoe is also often on the other foot for me, and I’m waiting for my line manager to join a call with me. Again, always make sure I’m ready there even if I’m waiting for him.

Don't be ridiculous. You don't "just sit there", you get on with work with Teams in the background until the other person joins. There's no convention in my workplace about the hierarchy of when people join a meeting but if you're not very busy yet because you're new, you should definitely be joining at the start time and assuming your manager will join as soon as he is able. If he does have a packed schedule with back-to-back meetings, it's rude to make him wait around.

You really do sound snippy. If you're going to die on this hill and project this attitude in a new job I suspect you won't have to concern yourself with this issue for very long.

Seems like making a mountain out of a molehill. Why would you wait for your boss to join the meeting, as others have said you join at the agreed time. If it was a physical meeting in a meeting room you wouldn't wait in your office until the boss rang to say I'm here now. You might be bitching about them being late, but you would be there on time.

They probably went to join and were surprised the meeting hadn't started, particularly if they were late.

Not sure this job is going to work out if you want the boss to be waiting for you rather than you being proactive.

Just turn up to meetings on time. Don't turn it into a drama it isn't.

It’s a bit weird but he’s now communicated what he wants so I’d just go with it. No big deal.

This x 100.

Having read your responses, I'd guess he's feeling that you need some management, and being clear about expectations re meetings is a first step in that.

Why make life so difficult for yourself and everyone around you?. It's what the boss wants, it's no skin off your nose, just do it. Or if the culture is that awful to you, go somewhere else.

We use Teams and I'm not sure I get this. Surely you just click the link and join? Not sure I can tell if anyone else is there or not before I join - I'm confused.

Seems like a power play by the manager, but not sure I'd have sat on my hands waiting. Both could do with an attitude adjustment.

He’s not sitting there waiting for you - he wants you to start it so he knows you’re ready and he can stop what he’s doing and join. He’s more senior, so makes no sense for him to start the meeting and sit there waiting for you - you, as the junior, should be the one doing this. It’s not power play, it’s the hierarchy of things. He’s more senior so therefore his role is more critical, simple as that. Just start the meeting and get on with your work until he joins 🤷🏼‍♀️

You've had some truly nutty replies, OP.

I'm with you, it is a bit of a dickish thing for your manager to say, or at least, the way he expressed it is dickish. It could just have easily gone like this, which would have communicated the same point but in a polite non-dickish way:

Him (via message): Hi surrpundedby, are you ready for our call?
You: Yes, ready when you are
Him <starts call>
Him: Hey surrpundedby, good to see you, how are you doing? Don't feel you have to wait for me to start a meeting by the way, just go ahead and start it on time and I'll join as soon as I can.
You: Sure, no problem.

Ignore him asking to start all meetings for a minute.

Is there an actual physical reason why starting the meeting (cam off/muted) and having the training resources up to carry on reading is an issue. Do you have enough screens? I have my teams chat/calls on my laptop and the actual work I'm doing on my two monitors so perhaps there is something there you can work at rectifying. Will your workplace pay for additional equipment so you have enough monitors to easily work?

I don't understand the 'start' bit. I just click on the link and go into the 'room'. Do my work etc if others are late.

Apparently you were trying to be accommodating of manager by not starting. He would rather you start the meeting and he will jump on asap so juat do it. Literally a non issue.

YANBU! Why is he messaging you asking if you're joining when he hasn't even joined yet? Unless he has actually been sat in there it's not rude at all. Never heard of this convention of the more junior person starting the meeting, sounds like bonkers hierarchical nonsense. If that is the rule, you should've been told.

Blimey. If the meeting is in the diary at 3, join it at 2.59. That's it.

Your manager probably doesn't see it the way you do, they probably see it as them joining maybe 5 mins late but you joining even later. Your reasoning makes sense to you but from his perspective it might come across as you just being late and not prioritising his meetings despite not having other demands on your time like he does. It's probably just got on his nerves a bit as you are new and he thinks you should be making an effort to impress. I'd just make sure you join at the meeting start time (which is standard practice where I work regardless of seniority).