To think it’s inappropriate for a colleague to vape during an MS Teams meeting?

[NimblePoster]

I was in a meeting today and one of my colleagues was vaping the whole time. I get that people may vape, but isn’t it a bit disrespectful to do it on a professional call? Would you say something or is it just me being sensitive?

A CFO I speak to often always seems to have a glass of wine and fag on if you have an afternoon call.

I’m fine with it if it’s an internal call with a close member of my own team

but if they did that to the wider company or with clients then it would be unprofessional.

(I am not a manager though!)

I was on a Teams meeting where someone smoked 3 cigarettes on camera. No one said a word but after the meeting we all said it was inappropriate.

IMO a teams meeting is a meeting and should have same standards as an in person one.

Im in HR and I interview on Teams - I’d expect someone to act exactly as they would if they were attending an onsite interview

I find the idea very inappropriate and unprofessional.if there are outside stakeholders involved in the meeting I would feel I had to report it.

i would avoid inviting them to client meetings. If I needed them in a client call, I would speak to their manager and ask that they be given training on how to be professional during meetings.

I wouldn’t mind. A woman I used to work with (when wfh) used to roll her fags on teams calls!!! 😂

A 14 year old is a teenager not a child.

I've never smoked or vaped, but this wouldn't bother me...
My only objection to vaping would be the smell, so on a Teams meeting it's fine!

It wouldn’t bother me, we’re a completely virtual team in multiple time zones so if it’s purely an internal team call there’s often someone having lunch, dinner or the occasional alcoholic drink during a call depending on what time of day it is for them. We also have quite a lot of pets joining in which can get a bit chaotic.

Obviously if it’s a wider call then we are all professional and behave as we would if we were office based.

I agree with all of this.

I don't know why, but this feels more unprofessional than sitting with a coffee.

Logically, it probably shouldn't be, but if a team member of mine was on a call with a client visibly vaping I would pull them up on it. Internally I probably wouldn't care.

It was an internal call, our team meeting. We’re both senior, and this is the first time she’s ever done it… which just so happens to coincide with our manager being off sick today, so she wasn’t in the meeting.

I would find it unprofessional and silently judge the vaper, but unless I was their manager I wouldn't say anything.

The only thing that’s ever bothered me about someone on a work call was with a global corporate where the meeting organiser was at the gym, on a treadmill. And he walked the entire call and it made me feel a bit seasick. Was really off-putting!

The two are not mutually exclusive.

Oh that sounds really irritating. I have a colleague who, rather than saying he can't make a meeting, joins on his mobile from somewhere inappropriate like a noisy cafe or walking down the street. It's impossible to hear what he's saying.

I would never do anything on a Teams meeting that I wouldn’t do in a face to face meeting. I wouldn’t vape in a meeting at the office. And I would class vaping as the same as smoking a cigarette or drinking a beer. I definitely wouldn’t smoke a cigarette or crack open a beer on camera during a meeting. If this was someone I was line managing, we would definitely be having a word about professionalism.

Eating is different in the right contexts. Some of my colleagues have meetings back to back from 8am to 5/6pm most days. They literally have to run to use the toilet. The only chance they have to eat anything is during a meeting. They’ll choose the more casual ones or ones where they can turn their camera off for a few minutes to shove a sandwich in.

My work is very chilled out but vaping on a call wouldn’t be appropriate at all despite there being vaping, smoking, drinking etc at work socials.

Nope, completely unprofessional!

If I was senior to them they'd be told not to do it again...

In my work teams calls have the same expectations for conduct as in person. So properly dressed (from waist up) no random family members parading about, no nipping to answer the door. Vaping would be a huge no. Letting standards slip like this is the fastest route to someone deciding that these meetings aren't professional enough and calling everyone in for them.

Why are you minimising this with the crying with laughter emoji? Its not funny, its disgusting.

Its a sex crime, just like flashing is. Its clear you all knew he was wanking over that woman. He did it publicly to humiliate her and shock you all.

I hope he was sacked for gross misconduct, not just 'not invited to a teams meeting' again.

@TheNoonBell you have made my day with that anecdote but I need more!! Was the ‘wanker’ called out during 😂

Unprofessional in my eyes.
You wouldn't do it in a face-to-face meeting. Same as smoking and yes it was accepted 20 years ago but it's not anymore.

If you’re not in the room, and it’s not directly affecting you, it’s not really your business. Vaping is legal. 🤷‍♀️

I wouldn’t vape during an MS Teams meeting. However, I do meet for regular catch ups and one of my colleagues also vapes so we mutually agreed that we could vape in our catch ups. Otherwise, no, it’s unprofessional.