New employee (Gen Z} doesn’t want to meet in person

[outofofficeon]

I took on a graduate for a new position, she’d been job hunting for a few years, I felt good about giving her a hand up into a great career.
She lives about an hour away so works remotely. She bright and polite and reliable and a good member of the team.

The problem I have is that she doesn’t want to visit the office in person or meet her colleagues in person, I offered to put her up in a nice hotel and pay travel costs so that she could spend a few days with us in person. She declined. My latest issue is that she doesn’t put her camera on when we are communicating at work as part of daily work or chats. I understand she might not be very confident but I think that you have to get out of the house / your comfort zone if you want a career.

im not sure what to do- any advice oh wise ladies.

I hate cameras on. I find it hard to focus by looking at the people and much easier when doodling, for example. Also, there is usually a lot of screen sharing, so pointless to have camera on for those. I also hate the hair and makeup situation as am not someone who usually wears makeup. I prefer to work from home how I feel comfortable and a video call makes me have to think about how I look, which seems a waste of time.

There is also the environmental aspect - video calls use way more battery and a lot of companies have policies around using cameras to keep their sustainability policies in order. The younger generation (hopefully!) feel strongly about wasting the world's resources as much as the rest of us.

I also have to to rearrange my desk for a video call - usually I have a screen in front of me and either a separate keyboard or the laptop. With no separate camera, I have to move the laptop to the other corner of the desk, and put the laptop on a riser, where I then can't easily reach the keyboard if needed (otherwise you would just see up my nostrils. I find a real mix of people's desk set ups and it can make a difference. I don't see the point where people have a camera on, but you are only seeing the side of their head while they are looking at the big screen in front of them. I know some companies pay for separate webcams and other equipment. Perhaps it is worth asking if she has a desk set up that works for video?

Some tips:
Client/external people call - camera on

Team call - camera on at start and end, especially if screen sharing for the most part. Or, as others have said, if you have a regular weekly or monthly call that she knows are coming, then cameras on, 5 mins team chat at the start, then acceptable to turn camera off

Slack catch ups - nah, no camera required. It's a chat or screen sharing usually and not may people want to be caught out looking a certain way for something ad hoc

I think it's relevant because most older people understand the conventions of the workplace, and if they're not doing things like putting their camera on, it's because they've got some issue themselves.

But young people are told at school and uni that anything they want is ok as the point is their learning, and so often they misunderstand the deal at work at first. They don't fully grasp that they are selling their labour to a business, and that the deal is they do what the business wants (within reason). In this generation this is expressed by lots of absenteeism and non participation, probably because that's what we set them up for with Covid. In previous generations it expressed differently.

So it's not really fair or helpful to read in a lot of individual meaning into her behaviour. I've had lots of young people behave in similar ways over the last few years. It's reasonably easy to get them up to speed. You need to tell them, kindly and firmly, what to do. Nobody has told them what to do! They're not broken, just unready.

have you actually seen her?

Have you actually ever seen her? She might just be AI.....or part of the new "WFH" generation that like to "work" in their pjs, or while on a dog walk, or pegging out the washing etc etchence no cam. It's unprofessional but guess it's one of the many perks of "WFH"

I completed a degree last year as a mature student and all the younger students 19/20ish never put cameras on on for teams calls/virtual group work. It’s weird. You’ll have to email out to the whole team as a reminder that cameras on are expected. Is she having induction/ new starter supervision?

With this age group I think it is also a legacy of Covid. School/Uni was all remote learning. They have come to think it’s the norm.

Presumably there is a review set up at the OP’s company and regular check-ins between managers and those they manage. You need to be firm and very clear about what is acceptable in your workplace.

You mentioned it's impacting performance but you also say she is great. If she is great and for some reason (neuro divergent or works better without performing socially)I would ignore and just accept people are different. If her outputs are lower than they should be and you connect it to her lack of presence then have a gentle chat.

I have worked in offices for years and would say I am one of the social ones. I absolutely hate having my camera on. I am not sure why. I find it distracting I think.

Don’t be silly.
It’s only ageist if you’re talking about boomers on Mumsnet.

This.

If you’re asking her to come in, she thinks it’s optional and doesn’t want to.

You need to tell her to come in. Assuming her contract has some expectation of face to face work time.

And to tell her that she needs her camera on. That doesn’t need to be in her contract. Just tell her there’s a new policy and from now on everyone has to have their camera on for all calls, unless told otherwise (that’s the rule for our work, they tell us to turn it off for some big calls though as it can make the call a bit glitchy if there’s too many of us with cameras).

As the LM you need to advise them of the expectation. We have a lot of people who won’t put cameras on and it does annoy me, especially managers. It’s so difficult leading meetings to a blank screen. It does impact on progression in my opinion too. In this case, i’d just mention in 1-2-1 the expectation is cameras on and you need to see them face to face once a month for example.

Have you ever met her in person? Presumably you did meet at the interview? If you’ve ruled out any actual reasons that prevent her attending the office, it sounds like you need to start putting some ground rules in place, GenZ or not, they don’t get to decide how the world works when you’re paying the wages.

At the beginning of the next meeting aam everyone to put their cameras on. She will look a bit silly if she is the only one who doesn’t put camera on. If people don’t put cameras on ask them why they are not putting camera on. If they say camera doesn’t work, get it fixed and tell them that cameras need to be kept on during meetings as it’s common courtesy if nothing else.Employees are paid to work and the rules need to be clear. Who chairs the meetings? At the end of your next meeting ask who would like to chair the next meeting. Sit through awkward silence for a minute and if no one volunteers, say you will have to pick someone if no one volunteers. Don’t pick her to chair first meeting but pick her to chair the second or third one. Organise face to face meetings in office once a month and make it clear that their attendance is required. Organise a team building : team away day. You’re the boss and you need to start acting like one otherwise people going to walk right over you.

Not really fair to hire someone remote and then be miffed if they don’t come in. That’s not stated as an expectation.

remind her that all meetings are camera on. This is non optional.

It's a remote contract so unless it stipulates coming in for induction or x number of days/events a year, you are a bit stuck there. Perhaps have a think about team needs moving forward and amend JD's and contract.

Regarding the camera off issue ideally that expectation should be written into the code of conduct/team expectations/remote working guidance. I expect cameras on for all meetings and our guidance is explicit. My rationale is that if you come into my office to ask me for something, you don't put a paper bag over your head so I can't see you. Therefore, if you Teams me, I expect your camera to be on. And yes, I expect my team to be work ready during all working hours in the event that they are needed to join a meeting with senior staff or externals without notice.

I think this is about the time when if the comment went the other way, someone would start with “oh good, another ageist thread”.

Idk if this will be helpful at all but during Covid and we did a lot of things over zoom and teams, I found it really helpful to put a post it over the bit where I can see me in the camera.

I still do it now - at the time it was a self esteem thing but now if I see myself in the corner I’ll just be looking at myself like Narcissisus.

If you hire again, you’d be better off making it explicit in a contract that you expect them to come into the office on some occasions with reasonable notice. That way everyone’s clear on the expectation.

I would say to her that cameras should be on in meetings - I think that’s reasonable personally. Occasionally I will say « sorry x it’s not a camera day today » if I look awful. But that’s maybe one meeting a month!

Ah - it very much depends on the person and the company. My DH and I are in our forties and are mostly camera off - I’ve worked in three organisations over the last five years and one had employees that preferred mostly camera off, one mostly camera on and one in the middle (where I am now) - all had around 3-5,000 employees. The camera-on one was actually least effective for collaborative working. Not sure why it would ‘go without saying’ and it certainly isn’t rude!

I pace as I talk on calls - helps me to think better. You want to get motion sickness watching my camera bob up and down, that is entirely up to you. I’ll also switch off incoming video because it is simply not necessary to see your face - it’s a distraction from what we’re talking about and I’m more useful when I’m not distracted. In-person meetings are more challenging for me and since working more from home, I’ve become far more effective and focused at my job.

Sounds like you’ve made a lot of assumptions and not clearly stated your expectations before offering her the role. If you have a probation period, then use one of the regular check-ins to rectify that. If you have offered her a remote-working only contract, with no stipulation that she might have to attend the office on occasion, then she’s well within her rights not to come in, regardless of how much you’re willing to spend to get her there. But you can at least implement a team policy of cameras on in certain meetings if it’s important to you and you think it’s having a material impact on the team.

Have a chat with your HR team as well and see what you can do practically, now that she’s here and in the role, to help recover from your oversights. You sound lovely but this is not a her problem - this is definitely a situation of your own making!

@outofofficeon Have you ever met her in person? Is she actually at the meeting or could different people be sitting there?

It sounds very strange.

Call an in person team building day and aside from that send a team email regarding cameras on during 121s at least.

Now this is not to bully or insert authority but looking back at covid seeing someone in person or visually was the only way my company could do welfare checks to make sure we all were okay or at least looked alive.

Remote working shouldn't mean faceless working the majority of the time. Imo it's gone too far then. No one works or lives in total isolation.

I agree. Also, for people with a hearing impairment, even a slight one, seeing the speaker’s face can make it very much easier to catch what they’re saying. I know several people who prefer video to phone for that reason. It’s not only lip reading but other visual clues.

Hiding your face limits communication. It also sends an unsociable message, which can be quite offensive.

This employee is not only undermining the team but sabotaging her own chances of success. She may claim and believe it’s to protect her mental health (as this seems rife at present), but she’s not doing herself any favours.

Camera off is incredibly rude to the other person if they've camera on. I suppose it's differentiating between it being a phone call which cameras off is or you're expecting a face to face then cameras go on.
I hate cameras off as well when someone is helping you out ...eg there was a big problem at work and another manager offered several of us from different departments training to get us out of the shit. We weren't line managed by th so it really was a favour. Half put cameras off. I just find this totally diminishes the other person's time and effort.

There are two elements to someone being a good employee, particularly in the line of business OP is describing. The first part is the performance and the second part is the culture aspect. She may be doing great work, but she is failing at the culture piece. As her manager, now is the time to have a good conversation with her about what is expected in terms of fostering a team relationship, meeting people in person from time to time, having the camera on, etc. you need to tell her that she won’t go far in her career if she doesn’t want to do these things. I would also try to find out if there are any barriers she has to this (does she need any accommodations?) and try and resolve them. But your expectations need to be clear and she needs to know the impact her actions or inactions will have on her progress and ultimately on her time with your company. It’s not just about what’s in the contract. In the future, I would make it clear at the interview stage what the culture is like so you can try and find the right fit for your team. This isn’t unsolvable but you need to manage her more.

Even with a fully remote contract, there will still be an expectation to come in- there will be something about 'requirements of the job'.

The fact that you are willing to pay for a hotel and she still won't attend does not bode well.

I agree with a pp that says you need to tell her she needs to attend.