Work meeting etiquette

[Meetingtimes]

just been on back to back meetings all day again, and feeling so frustrated with with following;

• General update meeting - everyone has a 5 min slot, people going over this consistently with absolute drivel nobody needs to know about, prompts that there time is up, but carry on in the weeds
• Meeting running over, some smart arse asks a question that could of been asked directly to the person at a later time
• No cameras on, even by the presenters, I kid you not I once did a full days training with an external trainer and they didn’t switch their camera on once!
• Having an open calendar policy, but still getting diary clashing invites
• Not responding to an invite at all
• leaving your mic on instead of just having a default so it mutes on calls with 10s of people

I might just be stressed (from all the tedious meetings) but why do people do this, especially the first 2?!?

Unless it is a visual think cameras not on and no idea why make up has to be worn i dont wear it office or online

Cameras on or off, I don't care.

There is no etiquette for cameras in meetings, and if there was it would be for cameras to be off unless strictly necessary. After all, online meetings were the direct descendent of conference calls, which of course, are audio only.

A fair percentage of people are hearing impaired and having cameras off makes it harder for them

Our work are insisting on cameras on now because it's also better from an IT security perspective

And running training to a whole bunch of blank screens is sole destroying. I ran business critical training on data security and after a few sessions I made it a rule that people would only be marked as having attended if they put their cameras on. We got much better engagement in sessions where everyone had their cameras on

I’m curious/nosy - can you say what you do, without outing yourself?

I sympathise to a degree, but there’s no point being annoyed unless you are prepared to take action.
I became strict on pulling people up on a lot of these behaviours. I only do that if I’m the meeting organiser/host, but I am very clear on my expectations.

Meeting for everyone’s 5 minute updates, people going over time.
Switch it to a shared document. No one needs to listen to 5 minutes from everyone. Everyone can add a few lines to a shared document and read it themselves. A (short) meeting can be held to follow up, for any questions or discussion needed.

Meeting running over. Whether hosting or attending, when the meeting time is up I will explain that I am leaving as the allocated time has ended. Often this is necessary as I’ll be going to another meeting. But either way, people should allocate an appropriate amount of time and plan accordingly (see also, do not set a 1-hour meeting for something that will take 20 minutes!).

No cameras on.
Announce at the beginning, “it would be great if people could use their cameras out of respect for their colleagues, we are all a team working together on this”.

Diary clashes
I reply with a decline saying “I cannot make this, please check my calendar, which is open to view, and find an alternative time”.

I worked out quite early on how to mute other people and regularly do this if they have background noise.

I would also include those people that decline the meeting around 15mins before it starts and then ask whether it could be recorded for them to watch on ‘catch up’. I know that sometimes it’s unavoidable but if everyone took that stance there would be nothing to listen back to.

Equally if your role in the meeting is completely passive then you probably don’t need to be there in the first place.

There are roles where the background could give away your whereabouts, or it could pick up plans on the wall in a secure area behind someone that others on the call don't have authority to view. It's easier to disable all cameras and ban mobile listening devices. (In a previous job, my ability to read upside down could be very useful in one-to-ones in my manager's office, so I do get the point that it just removes the need to cover things thst shouldn't be shared.)

I do have a couple of deaf colleagues, but they seem to manage with just hearing aids. Mind you, there probably aren't many calls where they would be missing anything wildly exciting...

Such wide variety of views. I only have 1 or 2 meetings a month so enjoy them, but my friend has 4-6 per day and hates them as they are pointless (could've been an email).

This is why A.I is going to take most jobs.

None of that sounded productive, just wasted salaries .

I think having your camera off in a meeting is just rude. Some of the reasons given here are just nuts. Especially the ones about other people seeing your house. Put on a background! All my colleagues use backgrounds, I've never seen any of their houses.

Back in my old job, when I could WFH, I used to have my feminist books behind me, including on equal pay and so on. I know some people looked, because a couple of them asked things like, "what's that title by your left shoulder?"

I just leave on time and if people are more than 7 minutes late to meet me I log off and email them asking them to reschedule.

cameras have to be on ( I make all my team do this) I’m not talking to a blank screen it’s ridiculous.

I decline anything that clashes )m( unless really urgent) I ensure mine and my departments calendars are open. When people want to meet me I say ‘ my calendar is open so pick a free time that works for you’ I don’t do the legwork.

when I first started this role I had to tell someone not to vape on a video call - that was a new one for me 🤣

I also work with two screens so in boring meetings I get on with other stuff in the background and if it’s not relevant to me I will leave, haven’t got time for wasted hours!

What's wrong with talking to a blank screen? How is that any different to talking to someone on the phone? Which is essentially what teams has replaced

It isn't though, is it. Teams allows hybrid working, it's part of the reason people go into the office less. It's replaced face to face meetings not telephone calls

We never ever talked on the phone. Teams has replaced face to face meetings, not phone calls. Who even has phone calls?!

It’s utterly soulless, I used to deliver essential training online - the number of people who would turn up, camera off and get really fed up when it was explained they needed their camera on due to the nature of the training (sensitive content, lots of group discussion/participative content). Less it’s a very big, seminar type meeting I’d expect people to “show up” on screen.

The camera thing drives me insane, some of my team have now found a way on google hangouts where they can have their camera on, with a google background and they themselves are not visible on the screen
Its written into our WFH policy that cameras need to be on for meetings unless agreed with your manager, it is very difficult to interact with people if I cant see them, it makes me question if anyone is listening or engaging with the conversation

We tend to have a few minutes chat at the start of the meeting when it’s internal only, and if I call a colleague about a work issue, we’ll have a chat first. But we’re all in the office two days a week, so that’s how we get to know each other and have the water cooler type chats. Our team meetings are in person as well.

The usual meeting etiquette is to have cameras on, unless you’re having a snack in which case it’s considered polite to turn your camera off.

Thanks for replying.

it’s about competing needs and priorities right? So for your workplace security is a big consideration, but for others it isn’t. And for deaf or neurodivergent colleagues who need to see faces, it’s not necessarily about what they would miss but the culture of inclusion and feeling part of a team. I love a webinar where no cameras are required because we’re all looking at the screen, but if I also can’t see the presenter I do find it harder to feel engaged.

Eh? No it hasn’t, Teams has replaced (at least partially) face to face working. If everything could have been done on the phone we’d have had large scale hybrid/WFH way before Covid.

Not for our organisation. We're all still in 5 days a week, we just use teams instead of the phone or conference calls

I think you've missed out the dreaded video conferencing facilities of the late '90s/00s, where no one could get the equipment to work first time ;)

But, they were all on-camera, and if you were particularly unlucky the camera followed the speaker... It seems to me that a Teams call is a hybrid of a conference call and video conference, so on that basis teams call etiquette ought to be whatever you want it to be :)

My pet hate is people who don’t use the calendar properly. Either putting in meetings that clash, or declining a meeting (which wasn’t a clash but clearly they had some in their own head they hadn’t put in the calendar, or just didn’t fancy that time) and then emailing me separately about a different time. Just use fhe “suggest a new time” function and look for yourself if it works!

I disagree with this. Cameras should be on unless a good reason, or maybe someone else is presenting for a prolonged period with slides, so you can hardly see the other people any way.

Teams meetings aren’t the descendants of conference calls, in most cases they replace in person meetings, or are hybrid with some people in the room and others on Teams. The least people can do is be visible. It’s much harder to converse with someone you can’t see - especially re knowing when someone is finished and not constantly interrupting.