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?

There are many well-reasoned and balanced arguments as to why it isn't
Well, that's the issue, there have been no balanced arguments given only petty excuses. The bras drying in the background has to top them all!

does it come down to a servile mentality, are you a control freak manager yourself or is it just about giving the op a bit of a kicking?
No, it's asking to consider working from home to be as similar as possible to working from an office, and that includes face to face communication during a meeting. How is that controlling?

And which company do you think gets the best out of people and can choose the best people
Definitely those who employ people who don't come up with pathetic excuses to not show their faces at home and just consider work at home as just working from another office rather than an excuse to do only the strict minimum they can get away with.

I'm very glad I work in an office of professionals not control freaks like the PP

Anyway one solution is to connect your PC to your phone rather than your broadband, and restrict the data so that it can't handle video.

If your employer wants to see you, let them buy you a fibre internet connection.

As for those of you who insist on professional standards I hope you have performed all the H&S checks and provided desks/chairs and such like which homeworkers are entitled to.

Yes to this too.

I've been a teleworker for over 20 years and one of the benefits of lockdown has been proper H&S assessments for home working, and loads of new kit. But I work for sane people who trust their employees and respect their rights to a good working environment.

There are many well-reasoned and balanced arguments as to why it isn't

"Well, that's the issue, there have been no balanced arguments given only petty excuses. The bras drying in the background has to top them all!"

I would say that there have been some balanced arguments against using a camera, and several reasoned arguments for using a camera, especially those so eloquently put by @sparticuscaticus.

As they are work calls I would have thought that the majority of companies use Teams, and maybe Zoom, both of which have the option to change the background.

I don't understand to be honest you wouldn't go to the office with your face covered I presume. I always assume (maybe incorrectly) people who have issue just haven't arsed themselves to get ready and don't want to be seen. That may be for mental health reasons however would your MH impact your ability to go into the actual office if we weren't in this pandemic? Not getting ready and acting like its a normal day is probably equally as a slippery slope.

I'd just politely say that your internet connection isn't up to it
You mean lie? When her boss knowns that her connection is ok since she does have her camera on at least a days a week?

I'm very glad I work in an office of professionals not control freaks like the PP
OP's boss didn't demand cameras on for months, has only started to demand it now, and it is so obvious that this is because people were taking the piss. OP's reasons are not good enough. Having had night? So what, millions of people have bad nights, should they refuse to face people because of it and hide in an office?

People of my generation will be asking about what is in place to support employees and if people insist on staying rigid and doing things the old they will miss out on a lot of fresh talent and new ways of thinking...for the better

People of your generation are going to have a shock to the system because many who don't think the world revolves around them are happy to step up and comply rather than argue non stop about their rights and entitlements. Managers don't have time for whingers. They are many people available to replace them.

@beautysloth but we ARE in a pandemic. My mental health was fine because I had a good life before, I am now existing and my employer over works us massively. This is choosing to have the camera off a day here and there

Who said I don't get ready? I get properly dressed every day. I havent done my work in my pyjamas once since this began.

We are not all in the same situation.

The amount of people equating working hard to having your camera on is bizarre. A lot of people with low emotional intelligence on this thread, I hope you aren't in management positions but I'm sure some are.

[quote Lizzie523]@beautysloth but we ARE in a pandemic. My mental health was fine because I had a good life before, I am now existing and my employer over works us massively. This is choosing to have the camera off a day here and there

Who said I don't get ready? I get properly dressed every day. I havent done my work in my pyjamas once since this began.

We are not all in the same situation.

The amount of people equating working hard to having your camera on is bizarre. A lot of people with low emotional intelligence on this thread, I hope you aren't in management positions but I'm sure some are.[/quote]
I didn't say you personally do not get ready please read my post again.

I am a manager and as a manager I would be more inclined to support you to resolve the anxieties fully not put plasters over it by allowing you to turn your camera off a couple of days a week for any length of time, that's not really fixing what's going on.

What rubbish @dontdisturbmenow our homes are our homes, we never asked for them to become offices. There is no comparison to be made. Adjustments yes because we need to keep working, but trying to replicate one to the other is not possible for many reasons.

You sound like a Victorian style employer in the style of Jacob Rees Mogg.

So what do you do on you bad days that can't be seen?

You just haven't explained how having a bad mental health day or sleepless night means being seen is affecting you badly.

What do you do or don't do that can't be seen?

I’m SO glad my public sector employer doesn’t have the bandwidth or capacity for video calls! Microsoft Teams with no video. Lovely.

@beautysloth unfortunately we are not offered that kind of support. I wish we were and that something was in place.

And I also don't expect my employer to fix the pandemic and frankly it is only once this situation improves that life will improve for many of us. Sometimes things happen in the world like depressions that cause widespread mental health problems. So many people I know are struggling and it is not as simple as saying 'tell me what's wrong so we can fix it'. The situation is far more serious than what a manager can do about it.

You sound like a Victorian style employer in the style of Jacob Rees Mogg
And you sound like one of those difficult employees always full of excuses and woe-me.

Si what it's your home? If you don't want the back of you to be seen, put something on the wall. Why would anyone care what's behind unless it was something offending.

Come up with a valid reason and it can then be validated, but all you've come up with is weak excuses.

I just had to field a call from DS's 6th form why he isn't seen on camera during lessons. Aside from he hates idea that unseen people are staring at him, our ADSL Router has mostly failed this morning, so DS had to join the lessons using phone data allowance -- we were all thinking about tethering off his phone (DH went to work with his data allowance to ... work). DS turned off the camera to not use up his data this morning.

DS offered to go on the train to use the train line free wifi (DS has unlimited travel pass), but that didn't seem in the 'spirit of lockdown'.

I've asked if the lessons are recorded so DS could catch up later with all the slides he couldn't see well on his mobile phone screen. sigh.

Well, that's the issue, there have been no balanced arguments given only petty excuses. The bras drying in the background has to top them all!

I didn't see that one but I'm sure my colleagues know what underwear I wear now as it must have appeared in at least one call!

@dontdisturbmenow as you seem to think employers can do no wrong what's your opinion of companies wanting a camera on all day as one poster mentioned?

I think the worst part about this situation is not so much the meetings but how many more hours I feel I have to do. I was off over Christmas and mentioned to someone I was putting all my work equipment away and they were shocked I wouldn't be checking emails. It was my annual leave so why should I?! That to me is far more intrusive than having to put a video on now and then.

@dontdisturbmenow - are you seriously saying that there are no arguments to back up why op is not wrong to feel her employer is being over the top? Not one?

Posters who say they are experienced in these matters have written about why it's a bad policy to require cameras on at all times. Many people have posted about sensible compromises like turning a camera on for a few minutes at the beginning / while speaking only and then off. Others have pointed out that they have long experience of teleworking without cameras, which suggests you can indeed do many jobs without your face being visible for long stretches of time. Finally, it is pretty well accepted (except on here it seems) that being on camera is not just the same as being in the office and is draining for a lot of people - actively anxiety-provoking for some.

You appear to believe that the only possible reason for not having a camera on is because you're slacking, which speaks volumes. And I don't think that wfh needs to replicate the office environment as closely as possible in the first place, so I think it's safe to say we're not going to agree on this subject.

[quote Lizzie523]@beautysloth unfortunately we are not offered that kind of support. I wish we were and that something was in place.

And I also don't expect my employer to fix the pandemic and frankly it is only once this situation improves that life will improve for many of us. Sometimes things happen in the world like depressions that cause widespread mental health problems. So many people I know are struggling and it is not as simple as saying 'tell me what's wrong so we can fix it'. The situation is far more serious than what a manager can do about it.[/quote]
I can't speak for every manager but I'm sure there will be some others who will come along and explain they are equally as supportive. I'm not saying any manager has to 'fix it', it is the role of a people manager to support their staff. We aren't mental health specialists but we have many years experience managing people with mental health conditions.

If I knew someone was struggling I would be having regular 1-1s, find out what external support they had in place and encourage them to reach out, offering counselling through the workplace, consider an occupational health referral or just have an open discussion about wether they need a little time off.

My point is turning your camera off a few times a week has to be just scratching the surface and allowing you to do that without exploring what's really going on is in no way supporting you. I find it hard to believe that's all you need to feel better and I'd be curious as to if it is affecting any other parts of your work.

There are many, many resources out there to help you through this time. I do hope you feel better soon and as unnerving as this time is, there are people who have adjusted and can cope which shows it indeed can be done unless there are other underlying unresolved mental health issues.

I work for a large banking corporation. Currently working from home.

Cameras are optional for all meetings. It is personal choice.

If I am in my pyjamas I tend to keep it off.

as you seem to think employers can do no wrong what's your opinion of companies wanting a camera on all day as one poster mentioned?
That's totally different. That doesn't replicate normal office work unless the boss otherwise sits in the same office.

Also, 8n the case if OP, it would appear that her boss was ok with it for a number of months so it's inevitable that something has made them think people were taking the piss for them to suddenly demand that everyone suddenly have it on.

If OP has an issue that means that putting the camera on has a significant effect on her health, this should be discussed with their boss separetly.

Deciding in the morning whether they feel like turning it in or not depending on their mood is not acceptable if the boss has requested that it is on every time.

@dontdisturbmenow

You sound like a Victorian style employer in the style of Jacob Rees Mogg And you sound like one of those difficult employees always full of excuses and woe-me.

Si what it's your home? If you don't want the back of you to be seen, put something on the wall. Why would anyone care what's behind unless it was something offending.

Come up with a valid reason and it can then be validated, but all you've come up with is weak excuses.

Thing is, "I'd rather not turn my camera on," isn't a weak excuse, nor is in invalid.

It's a personal preference. And so far the only reason you've really given is that people should do as they're told, which definitely is a weak reason.

Just because it's not a big deal for you, it is for other people. It certainly is for me. Some people in my organisation do have their cameras on, some don't. I don't. It isn't causing any problems. My relationships with my team/new people I meet on calls is great. My work is great. What's the problem? Why do you want to look at my face when I've specifically said I'd feel more comfortable with my camera off?

perv

Not for the first time, I find I am VERY grateful that life led me into a industry and career that means I don't have to live with some of the managerial styles on here.

I feel for those that do.

@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 have done in the office? Couldn't have laid on the sofa I assume?

As a manager if your mental health, sleep or endo is that bad you can't face being seen then I'd want to know. Aside from that the camera is just an equivalent of being in work. I'd expect you to be dressed / ready / not laid down etc. If you can't be dressed / focussed / sat comfortably then you shouldn't be at work.