Five Reasons We Don’t Do Work Video Calls (And One Reason We Do!)
For those of us lucky enough to work from home (WFH for the newly initiated), I’ve seen many people advocate the benefits of video calls for work. As many things are changing in this rapidly evolving COVID-19 world, this blog post may age very quickly but for the purposes of our business, I’ve found a very simple rule to be practical and valuable.
No video on conference calls.
I know, I know. The experts all say it can create a sense of team and enable a personal connection when working remotely. Yet, as someone who is a veteran of WFH because I did it for the better part of the last three years until we got an amazing office space in Midtown Manhattan, I will take the counterpoint to these experts’ opinion.
Here are five reasons why cameras on work calls are a bad idea…and one reason it is terrific!
Invasion of privacy
We’ve never seen many of our co-workers’ homes and then all of sudden, we’re expected to peek in on them for hours a day for work purposes. It feels intrusive, no? And, I dare say, a little awkward. Maybe it’s because I live and work in NYC where my entire apartment is the size of a typical conference room, it can make an already small space feel claustrophobic. Also, as the boss, does my team really need me to see everything they are doing during the day? Similarly, do I really want people who work for me to see what I look like in my WFH attire? I call it “Business Super Casual”.
Do you ever find yourself completely drained after a day of being on work video calls and then not wanting to interact with friends and family after hours? Perhaps it’s because you spent all your energy being on camera at home, for work…and we’re just not used to it.
Multitasking
Let’s face it (well, actually let’s really not — get it?). On those multi-person conference calls when you aren’t the lead speaker, there are a few things you can get done and be productive during some of the down times. Think of all those hours you spend pretending to pay attention during in-person meetings, when you could just jot off a few quick emails. No harm done! Maybe, just maybe, I’ve also been able to attack that pesky hangnail during a quiet moment.
Wardrobe malfunctions
Have we all seen the video call of the woman who got up while on a conference call, with her phone in hand with video still on, walked into the bathroom, and proceeded to drop trou? How about the person whose husband walked in the background in his underpants? No? Well hoax or not, this can happen and I don’t know if HR and labor law have figured out a solution to this one yet!
The root of the problem
Ladies, let’s get real. We have mere weeks before even we find out our real hair color. As far as I know, there is no Zoom filter for roots. And it is definitely one source of the I-can’t-stop-looking-at-myself problem we so often have on these calls. So unless you want to wear a hat all day to “work”…
Excuse me, this is a personal call
I truly believe that streaming video is amazing for calls and definitely for screen sharing. But I leave the video for my social calls in the evenings when I need to catch up with friends and loved ones. Dinner with Mom and Dad, drinks with my sister, gossip with my college girlfriends, or dance parties and gags with the besties — technology has given rise to a whole new way to connect. Sidebar: How great is it when you can only see 10% of your parents in the frame or they accidentally mute themselves because they have no idea what they are doing on smart phones or computers. Best part of the calls!
But first, happy hour!
I do have one exception for the work video call…Friday happy hour. I really do miss my teammates and love to see their smiling faces. And when the week is just about done, and you really can’t concentrate anymore on work, time to crack open a cold one and light up the Brady Bunch call to check in and find out what’s good with everyone in their own quarantine world.
Honestly, this quarantine would have been a completely different experience 10–15 years ago. I’m grateful not only for my business, teammates, clients, and the work we get to do but also, for WiFi and web conferences. Maybe things will change by Day 47 of quarantine but I’m hopeful that this pandemic will enable us to open our perspectives about better ways of interacting, working, and living. But until then, just please don’t make me get all dressed up for a call in my living room. I probably haven’t taken a shower in three days.
Lastly, a word of thanks to the mute button. A serious life and dignity saver. Think about it.
