Ugh eating during an online meeting.

[digimumworld]

Is it rude to eat during an online meeting?

I work for an organisation that’s global but remote. We meet for an hour every day at the same time. It’s the only time we are really committed to be in one virtual room. Apart from our individual meetings or client meetings or the odd in person meeting.

I got so annoyed at a colleague that decided to have their breakfast during the call. And a few seniors pointed out the chewing sarcastically.

There are less than 10 of us on the screen so you can see everyone. They are taking spoonfuls, licking teeth, chewing, and when they have to turn the mic
on to speak, you can hear them clearing their teeth, it’s all salivary etc because.

I mean is it so hard to eat before or after the meeting - with the knowledge that this is the one time we meet every single day?

You wouldn’t do this in an in person meeting.

Is this a GenZ thing?

Sorry I find it rude. And annoying.

Or maybe this is the decline in social skills we talk about.

AIBU?

You need to organise your calendar better then! Legally your employer has to give you a break every 5 hours.

I’d close their teams window down unless that facility is blocked by your organisation

Agreed this is gross. Thank god im now self employed.

Not much no. I’m a solicitor. I have meetings with various people throughout the day but the senior leadership team are generally only available between 11-2 so we have an awful lot of meetings over lunchtimes because that is the only time we can get the team together.

This doesn’t really apply at my level. It’s not like a retail job where you get formal breaks. It is universally expected that people will be in meetings over lunchtime and that sometimes people will be eating in those meetings with cameras off.

Sounds pretty rubbish. If everyone's eating though, I'd view that slightly differently.

In my workplace, we have total control of our calendars so I do think it's unreasonable for people to not give themselves a few minutes to eat. It's always the ones who huff and puff and say they have "back to back meetings" who then slurp in my face. Unlike in your industry, there is zero expectation for us to not take a break in the middle of the day.

And just jumping in here to say that it's not only "retail" where people take breaks. It's actually pretty normal in the corporate world. The implication from you, I assume, being that you are very important unlike lowly retail folk.

I, too, am most important at work. Very important indeed. I take a lunch break because I'm a human.

No, it’s office / WFH based and all my clients and team members are remote so some mornings are back to back calls. It’s not every day and it’s fine, if I was being paid minimum wage I might reconsider but other days I have time to go to the gym or run at lunchtime and it’s very flexible and better paid than most jobs for the level of responsibility I have

I think eating in meetings is rude and off-putting.

But the meetings need to be scheduled sensibly. Are they strictly time-limited or are they allowed to drag on for ages? If the latter then yes, some people might have to eat.

But what you’ve described is not the same as what was stated in OP, is it?

I didn't say it was?

I was commenting in general, as many people were commenting about their own offices, or saying that eating in offices was unacceptable/ disgusting.

OK, it’s just I think there’s a big difference between the scenario you’ve described to what OP had.

What you’ve described for me wouldn’t be a problem.
However, what OP said- I absolutely do think that’s disgusting and there’s no way I could sit in a meeting listening to that.

I have a colleague who eats weird looking porridge made from chia seeds and berries (she has told us) during morning meetings on teams. She also has a tendency to interrupt others and chip in, so we get treated to slurpy eating noises and bits of purple berries and seeds stuck in her teeth when she speaks, often with a mouth full.
It's revolting.
The team culture is 'be nice' so nobody says anything. I will have to at some point I think.

I would expect people to have their camera and mic off whilst they quickly eat

No they don't. Not in all circumstances.
Where work is not measured, which is the case for many, many office workers (image pending, from gov.uk). It is not as simple as 'organise your calendar better'.

I have a life, it's you that was completely over the top and continue to perpetuate this. By your own post, I can also say that I want in the way I want. I am not offended - it's a you problem that your language doesn't take into consideration the feelings of others. You say ignore you but then you keep responding....the irony is delicious.

All you have done is attack others who have pointed out that what you have said is offensive.

Wow, that is really heavy and serious. I truly hope your dad is okay or as well as he can be following......

As someone who has a close family member with PTSD (very traumatic experiences abroad) I completely get and understand what you are saying.

I have tons and tons of meetings often back to back. Camera off and on mute when you are eating seems fine to me.

It’s massively unprofessional and needs the senior leader to ask everyone not to do it

I once interviewed someone who was slurping on a huge slushy style drink through a straw the whole time. My recommendation to the hiring manager was to pass (for this and other reasons) but they hired her anyway and then regretted it.

I work in a business which can be relentless on some days and if people are in back to back meetings they usually turn their camera off to eat for 15 mins.

But what time is this meeting?

If it's 12-1pm, that's peak lunch time in our org, so it's expected that people will be eating.

There's an unwritten rule in our org that you avoid the 12-1pm hour save for urgent stuff.

I see your ‘eating during online meeting’ and raise you the woman who sat in our seminar when I was at uni eating a yoghurt with her fingers because she’d forgotten her spoon. 😟

In real life with busy global roles across many timezones and continents people dont care or even notice.

On mumsnet it's the height of anarchy.

I'm so thankful for my career where I've never had loads of meetings! I'm sure it didn't used to be like this?

"On mumsnet it's the height of anarchy"

No, just considered outside the realm of decent manners.

I really don't care and I can't see what's disgusting about something that is on a screen. It's eating, not pooping. Assuming the person is on mute, but I don't know anyone who keeps their microphone on during a call unless they're speaking (that, I find very rude)

I wouldn't do it because I hate eating whilst I'm doing something else, but I really find it extremely trivial.