To think mandatory video calls is a ridiculous request?

[Lizzie523]

After nearly a year of working from home our manager has requested we all turn our cameras on for every daily team meeting (which is every day).

I can't say what my colleagues reasons are for turning theirs off some days, but I tend to do it on days my mental health isnt great or I've had a terribly sleepless night due to the stress of this whole situation. Probably once or twice a week. They are arguing we should appear like we were in the office - but in the office we got on with our work and were not having a daily meeting or sitting in front of all our co workers faces.

The meetings are usually pointless check ins where no one has a thing to say. It is always the same extroverts talking about personal stuff. The fact the videos on is now mandatory because they say so has annoyed me quite a bit. AIBU?

whether I have had internal or external video meetings for work during the pandemic people are dressed and ready for the day. I don't get the need to be working in pyjamas as a reason not to be on video.

People aren't in formal clothes (we are informal anyway) but they're properly dressed and I'm yet to see a hoodie or tracksuit - on the top half anyway

We are being paid to work, we are professionals and part of that is making sure that we're ready for the day in the same way as we would be in the office. It's not to slob about not feeling well, if we're not feeling well, take the day as sick

I have to say, if I am in a meeting and someone has their camera off (and especially if muted as well!) I usually suspect they are doing something else or haven’t bothered to get dressed etc.

I don’t understand why not having to commute means you have to dress like a total slob and not make an effort to look professional. I think I’d go mad if I never saw anyone’s faces. I really miss the interaction of the office.

Obviously there are some times when you need to go off camera or the network genuinely does slow down but generally, it’s just a part of work life now I think!

@Atrixie

whether I have had internal or external video meetings for work during the pandemic people are dressed and ready for the day. I don't get the need to be working in pyjamas as a reason not to be on video.

People aren't in formal clothes (we are informal anyway) but they're properly dressed and I'm yet to see a hoodie or tracksuit - on the top half anyway

We are being paid to work, we are professionals and part of that is making sure that we're ready for the day in the same way as we would be in the office. It's not to slob about not feeling well, if we're not feeling well, take the day as sick

Agreed!

I'm actually perfectly fine to have my camera on, but I could not give less of a shit if someone else does.

I cannot imagine having so little going on in my life that as a manager I would find the time to care about this. If the mental wellbeing of a staff member was of concern I wouldn't deal with it by asking them to have their camera on at all times.

I said earlier, camera on in meetings is important and inclusive for hard of hearing colleagues when others are talking. And others who have various disabilities.

I'm not interested in what background filter you choose, whether your hair is styled, I'm too busy using lip reading cues and trying not to laugh at what "live captions " (speech to text) claims you've just said ! It's been horrible to lose that "in person meeting cues" I rely on, very isolating

Those arguing about why should they put their camera on - for a paid work meeting - forget that it's not all about them. Hearing a bit of entitlement from some PPs when it's instead another means of improving communication

I think I only get dressed about 50% of the time at the moment. My clothing has zero percent impact on my work.

Agree with PPs that there is a lot of empathy lacking on this thread. People have explained why they don’t like it and the fact people experience video calls differently to meeting in person is widely acknowledged, yet posters are so quick to dismiss others.

Even if this was precisely the same as being in the office (and I don’t think it is), it’s worth pointing out that open plan offices do indeed negatively impact on some people. Lack of privacy and being ‘on display’ constantly is one of the factors.

People on MN are weird about clothes. Personally I have never given a flying fuck about what anyone else wears to work.

People aren't in formal clothes (we are informal anyway) but they're properly dressed and I'm yet to see a hoodie or tracksuit - on the top half anyway

Hoodies are pretty common amongst my colleagues on Zoom meetings if it's within the organisation. But for anything external, or a formal presentation to colleagues, they'd be dressed 'for the office'. As for hair and makeup, loads of women don't wear makeup anyway, it's not compulsory. Plenty of my colleagues don't (and it hasn't held them back in their careers).

Also you can blur your background or put a different background on so I don’t accept the ‘chaos behind me’ excuse. If anything going on mute but being on camera is more acceptable as there could be loud building works next door etc. so sometimes that is necessary.

DH's team leave a video call open all day so they can chat and do the equivalent of bellowing across the office - some of his team have their cameras on all day as well. DH doesn't like to switch his on (he does when required) and no one's queried his decision. I'm glad he doesn't since his desk is at the corner of the dining room (we have no spare room or space to move people out into - we've outgrown the house really) and I would find it incredibly intrusive into our lives.

The all day long call open pisses me off enough as it absolutely bloody kills everyone else's internet connection!

I'm doing online uni and we've generally hit the consensus that we'll put cameras on in small groups - but not in the larger seminars (our crap uni software can't cope with it). We have someone who has just got a new puppy and is putting it on camera constantly and it's grating a tiny bit at the moment but such is life. I find it sooo distracting seeing my face on screen.

@Lizzie523

I quite agree with you *@Ciaobaby92*. Why give people a hard time for a small thing when we are all working hard?

I also have endometriosis and I simply wont turn my camera on on bad days when I'm on the couch face contorted with pain!

What would you do in an office environment then? Or do they have sofas in your office that you would frequently lie on?

DH's team leave a video call open all day so they can chat and do the equivalent of bellowing across the office - some of his team have their cameras on all day as well.

My manager wanted this at the start of the first lockdown. Thankfully it never happened, it’s my idea of hell having the video just on in the background all day. I have no issue with videos in calls really, but this was a step too far I felt.

That would really p*ss me off- it's a control technique because they can't trust your professionalism that you're paying attention to the meeting unless camera is on. Pathetic micro management.
Tell them your web cam is broke/ your net can't handle streaming camera too- or whatever, you don't have to broadcast your face to your office if you don't want to.

@Catplanter but can you recognise that other people do care about clothes and that work places often have a cultural norm?

You might not care what anyone wears but the reality is that many people do. Recognising what the expectations are and what level of conformity is required is an important skill if you want to progress or your reports want to in an environment that values adherence to a dress code.

Over the years I have managed multiple teams of lawyers. Whether giving advice internally or externally a key feature of our value add is our credibility and that, like it or not, is tied in with appearance. Over the years I’ve had direct reports who have wanted promotions and some of them have been hampered by the way they dress. They may not have cared about clothes, I may not have cared about clothes but generally people do and if you refuse to conform in an organisation it doesn’t matter how great your work is you’ll often find that you’re hampered by that unwillingness.

Because if employers wanted to do a conference call they would. They want videos on so they can see their employees up and ready for work.

Most people on here will be ready to engage with their brains switched on but I know a couple of my exdh employees were hung over and lay in bed on their laptops. Not great when you have to speak to customers or talk about/ write up legal documents.

The new phase of working from home is causing some issues. Some people are not disciplined enough to do it. Some can treat it like a day in the office others cannot.

Some of the sales team in my ex’s office are really struggling as there is no drive or incentive to try and be the top sales person for that day/week. ( especially whilst posting pictures on social media in their pajamas sat at a lap top with the hash tag #workfromlife) It’s actually having a detrimental effect of the business as a whole.

So I can totally get why employers want to see their employees - up, ready and focused.

Also if your ill you need to call the office. If your lay on the couch in pain - you are not fit to work.

Gosh, I'm glad I don't work at some of these places! We have video calls but it's personal choice whether you turn the camera on or not, we are never pressured to - not even on one-to-one calls.

What difference does it really make whether you see someone's face or not as long as the work is done

@sparticuscaticus this is a really interesting perspective which I hadn't even considered- thanks for sharing.
Do the captions not come up with just mic on? Or is it the captions, combined with visual of someone's face (lips moving) that is most effective for people with hearing impairment?

Just because you are comfortable with your video on, it doesn't mean that other people are. Just because it helps you communicate doesn't mean that it doesn't make it worse for other people. Just because it makes you work better when you are professionally dressed doesn't mean that other people don't work better in their PJs. Just because you would be slacking off or not paying attention if cameras and mic were off, doesn't mean that other people would.

What matters is productivity and getting the job done, as managers we should motivating and supporting our staff in a way that works for them. "Suck it up, buttercup" is a pretty poor management technique.

I lucky in that my company is more understanding, because we are all more understanding of each other and willing to make adjustments and allowances - that is our culture
(there are a couple of thousand of us). We have been told by our CEO and board right from the start that staff welfare is our number one priority, core customers are second, everything else we know we might have to adjust. And guess what? People are trying their best precisely because of that culture. But they might be doing that from their bed, all made up and professionally dressed, or slobbing in their PJs with their camera off. It does not matter.

This thread has made me so angry!

Recognising what the expectations are and what level of conformity is required is an important skill if you want to progress or your reports want to in an environment that values adherence to a dress code.

I've progressed perfectly well without that thank you, due to the fact I have never wanted to work in an environment that upholds that sort of culture.

TheSmallAssassin

Spot on.

I had to request camera on for a weekly meeting, as the participants weren’t responding when asked questions. Perhaps that’s the case here too? The problem being that it’s a pointless meeting. Could you ask that the meetings be reduced to a couple of times a week, to allow more time for the high workload? Or offer suggestions on what could be covered to make them more useful? Whether on camera or in person, pointless meetings are highly frustrating!

They may not have cared about clothes, I may not have cared about clothes but generally people do and if you refuse to conform in an organisation it doesn’t matter how great your work is you’ll often find that you’re hampered by that unwillingness

This is true.

What would you do in an office environment then? Or do they have sofas in your office that you would frequently lie on

You'd assume most offices would permit home working in such a situation. Any of those I've worked in certainly have

All you managers assuming that if people don't have their camera on it means they are hiding the fact they're not paying attention - either you are hiring the wrong people, or you are paranoid. Either way you need to take a look at yourself.