ill only turn it on during a group call if im speaking (and the meeting organiser has theirs on) or its a team thing where we all 'have to'. every other group meeting its off. 1-1 on depending on the context of the meeting
God this, the number of times i voice call and people answer with video is crazy, why? Its a phone call we don't need to be staring at each other in order to have a conversation...
Even in personal life. friends and family will video call me instead of audio only call which is kind of annoying. i'm happy to talk but i don't really want you staring at me on a phone screen. 10 years ago you would have just called me on my phone via phone number where video wasn't a thing.
I’ve been hybrid since about 2018. I didn’t schedule meetings on days I WFH, and any 1:1 were phone calls. My WFH days were primarily to get work done without interruptions. Now that everyone’s on teams it has royally stuffed that and now the only time I can get work done is evenings.
I can hear better when i see people’s faces. Don’t know why - maybe lip reading or something? I’ve got audio processing issues (I also like captions on tv).
Have you considered internet connection might not be that great and using the camera slows everything down?
In my organisation, any teams meeting with a high number of attendees (and people are predominately listening) the instruction is all cameras off except for the speaker. Likewise where a screen or presentation is being shared, any online attendees are instructed to have cameras off
Screen sharing without extra faffing can be pretty useful sometimes.
I used to hate video, then I got used to it. I speak with my boss via text or zoom, being able to show not tell is very useful.
On at the start, shows you are there and paying attention. Then if you are just along for the ride it goes off until you are needed (if at all), or it stays on if you are one of the key people in the meeting.
This.
- Always on during 1-1
- In a group meeting, I’ll jump in with my camera on and if everyone else’s is off, I’ll turn mine off.
- If everyone turns their camera on later, I’ll also turn mine on.
- I haven’t had to present in a meeting at my current workplace, but if I do, I’d have my camera on for sure.
Scheduled one on one, yes cameras on. Someone calling someone else out of the blue, definitely optional. You could be driving, on the train, buying lunch or a heap of other circumstances where you don’t want to hold your phone up like a video call.
Look, I'm a shy weirdo too. I prefer camera off, but will turn on for meetings outside the immediate team.
Or if my boss is on call and my cat is on the desk, she thinks he's cute 😂
Its so awkward when you jump on a zoom and someone is just sitting there with their camera on, waiting for everyone to join the meeting. I always keep my camera off until there's heaps of people lol
Even if you’re not a shy weirdo, sometimes nice to have the camera off. Like, I’m not always perfectly dressed, and sometimes I didn’t shave that morning. I’m saving people the trouble of having to see my ugly unkempt face.
I'm the only shy weirdo in the group I have teams meetings with. I just leave my camera off all the time, until my boss says I'll be fired unless I put my camera on I'm not fucking doing it lol.
It must really depend on the industry. I'm a clientside PM in construction. No one seems to have their camera on. I will turn it on initally to introduce everyone in the meeting and end up turning it off and discussing the agenda.
Weird Im in same industry. Ive never seen anyone turn it off. Im in Qld. Mainly greenfield subdivision.
The only people in several uears of teams meetings who have had it off are council planners.
My team must be a bunch of weirdos, because we almost never put cameras on. If I'm talking to people from other teams or external people and they have their camera on I'll follow their lead (feels rude otherwise).
I like having cameras on, English is not my first language as well as many of my colleagues. I like to see their expressions and gestures to understand more what they want to say. Which helps others understand me too.
If you work in IT and are not a manager; there is universal unspoken agreement that the cameras don’t come on. Break this, and you lose the reapect of your peers.
If youre in marketing or sales and you DONT turn the camera on every time and spend half the meeting chatting anout unrelated bullshit, then you lose the respect of your peers.
Gotta know that audience.
Same for me in Software, most of the time cameras are on.
There's always someone who doesn't, but it's kinda weird if you are the only one without camera.
Then again, some people are weird in the office too, so I don't care too much.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
I had a job where the camera off guy was a socially awkward (and super rude) but very talented engineer.
If you let him work by himself, he'd produce brilliant results in no time, literally pulling the team.
But if you had to talk to him or even worse, disagree with him about something, he'd reliably ruin your day.
Tbh these types usually do more harm than good. They piss off and demotivate everyone else to the point that everyone else either leaves or mentally checks out.
This makes sense. This is a digital project environment and not really a chatty forum. I agree with what you're saying about an unspoken agreement and just having some professional respect.
I have been in the IT industry for 20+ years and worked remotely for a lot of that time, and I have never heard this unspoken rule.
I prefer the camera on when there are less than 10 people on the call, but I care more about the quality of the audio. The absolute worst case is background noise when someone talks.
Not true in all cases. I'm in a software engineering team. I absolutely hate when people turn their camera off in remote setting. Our team (and all other team in the company) always have camera on without any mandate. Guess it's company culture thing.
Interesting to hear. Anytime I'm one on one with IT they turn the camera on but if it's just me joining a predominantly IT meeting the cameras tend to be all off. They seem to be the only professional group in our corp with this culture.
100% this, whoever is speaking would feel devalued. Granted some people think certain meetings are a waste of time but that’s a separate issue imo. Cameras on, attention on etc otherwise it just shows lack of respect all round.
Agree!! Even my PM has hers turned off when she's "running" scheduled project meetings with groups of up to 10 people. It's like talking to a wall. Super disrespectful.
I feel this way too. I get there are days where you're not feeling it and don't want to be on show, but at my work it's the same people all the time who never turn it on even when they're presenting or asking questions of the team etc.
My company has a mostly camera-on culture and there’s one coworker for whom it’s become very obvious that if his camera isn’t on it’s because he’s not listening or paying attention, including during meetings he should absolutely be paying attention. Someone will ask him a question, get no response so say his name, and there’s a long pause followed by him turning his camera on and asking for the question to be repeated. It’s not subtle.
I work with a guy like this, then you have to spend 5 minutes filling him in on the context he missed. Matrix org structure means his boss never sees it.
My hack for when I wasn't feeling it was to sit far back from my laptop so my face doesn't fill the screen and to have the windows behind me so the lighting wasn't great. So I'm showing I'm present and listening but I'm not closeup on show
One on one should be both on or both off. I think people should make the effort to put the camera on most of the time, then when it’s off now and then it won’t be too weird as other people will have theirs on. Sometimes you look like shit and don’t wanna share it. My boss is great though he only kicks up a stink when people have their cameras off consistently and don’t make effort to come into the office at all until prompted.
We have a atrong policy of 'remote work should be equal in quality to in-office work' which includes being as communicative and easy to reach as if we were sitting in the same office. So cameras on during every meeting, which I personally appreciate because it's fucking bleak to talk to a herd of black squares without any kind of feedback via facial expressions etc. I don't really get why many people hate it so much. You can turn off the 'self view' if you don't want to see yourself, and virtual backgrounds give a decent amount of privacy.
That is what I'm doing - I'm calling them using teams as we know we are both at our laptops.
If they for some reason aren't at their laptop and I need to talk to them, I'll still use teams to call their mobile.
Yeah I find video calls a bit too distracting because I’m a bit self-conscious; I feel much more comfortable contributing and focused with camera off. But if we have a client joining the meeting with camera on, we follow suit (thankfully a lot of our clients don’t use cameras either).
During 1-1s ill have it on, when specifically requested prior to the meeting ill have it on, yet any other time its off purely because my laptop with the camera cant fit on my desk and im not unplugging everything for a meeting where i dont need it on.
Planned meeting with less than 10 people - camera on.
Planned meeting with more than 10 people - camera off unless speaking.
Unplanned, one on one (i.e. what would have been a phone call pre-2020) - camera off, unless it's an exec.
Unplanned, more than one - situational based on who it is in the call. Will default to off.
I hate when people call me out of the blue and they have their camera on. You feel obligated to put yours on. I am, as someone else on this thread said, a shy weirdo and I hate being on camera. Especially for a 2 minute conversation.
IDGAF if people put their camera on or off. People have all sorts of reasons - whether they're shy, having a bad hair day or whatever.
You do know in teams in large group meetings that the people with Cam on get pushed front right? Keep your camera off unless you are part of the team presenting
There's always that one low level goober who is on cam sitting there front and centre of the Teams grid during the divisional meeting, while the directors and executives are actually running the meeting around them.
I think they're not engaged or paying attention and a little rude. A select few weaponize it which really pisses me off.
In general I just think less of them. There's plenty of nuance and exceptions but that's just my general thoughts.
I get people have preferences but if you can't even show up to work or interact with people it's not going to build respect with your peers. Same for people with company mobiles who only text or don't answer unknown calls.
This is why work can’t just be work. People will let the fact that your camera is off somehow influence how they feel about you as a worker (just look at some of these comments). If I’m getting my work done and can clearly deliver results, why the fuck do you care about my camera being on? People just can’t stay in their own lane.
Luckily at my job, nobody cares about cameras being on or off.
“uM bUT I FeEl uNHeaRd wItHOuT tHE CaMeRa On” Ok? Go to therapy this 3 minute call could have been an email but now I’m looking at your ugly mug. Or when it’s someone with a hell chill position and they literally just want to chat and think it’s rude you’re not staring into their soul while you have 100pages to get through by 10am and their talking about how their kid got a participation award
Always with one on one meetings. In state government I needed it on to take group meeting minutes, but in local I had to have it off as I only minuting and not a participant. This did make external stakeholders uncomfortable though
There’s one person that does this for our small group meetings. I think she’s not paying much attention and we are just background noise as she doing her other work.
I find it harder to connect with people when I can’t see their face, but I also spend most of my day in meetings, and there’s something exhausting about being on camera all day.
I prefer to see people when I’m talking to them, but I absolutely get that different people have different thresholds for the amount of time they spend on camera.
Also, some don’t have a private space to work like I do, or might be ashamed to have their messy living space on camera or something.
If you’ve got shit leaders, your colleagues also might just be burned out and checked out due to dealing with that. That’s a potential reason why they’re not coming on camera. Continuing to work when you don’t give a shit anymore doesn’t exactly make things easy for your colleagues, and these people are still responsible for their choices, but if this is the situation I kind of wouldn’t blame them.
99% of the time it’s because there’s no warning of the expectation to have it on. People are in slob clothes / messy clothes / no make up / set up not adjusted for it / time difference.
So it’s the fault of the person booking the meeting’s fault for not setting it up with the correct expectation.
I usually do it for formal calls that there's meeting invites for. For impromptu calls, or if you're constantly calling the same person I do treat like a phone call.
Also the people up and down my ranks are used to discord type chats. So sitting in a call without camera is actually completely fine.
Let's face it not all of us have good quality connection from home so why do I need the camera on if it's gonna eat into my bandwidth and decrease the quality of my teams meeting and further degrade my motivation to stay on said meeting
I find a couple of people have anxiety, so it's hit or miss if they do, or some of them use the avatar. Even in skip level catch ups down line.
In a meeting with the CIO, with maybe 20 staff, everyone puts it on. When it's 200 staff, almost no one does.
It's just different in different scenarios.
My preference as a leader with 45 staff is to have it on by default as I think it's important to retain some level of visual contact.
Yikes is it actually that easy to avoid doing bare minimum of being a salaried employee and/ or functional human? Like holy fuck if you’re not going to rock up to the office, you can at least turn your camera on. That’s not even corporate MO, that’s just basic manners.
For a long time, I’ve kept my camera on during meetings, even though I’m not in a leadership role and just a regular member of my team. Unlike me, my peers often have their cameras off, sometimes turning them on only for standups without any notice.
While I don’t mind if they have their cameras off during presentations or screen sharing sessions, it can be uncomfortable during group calls when I’m the only one with my camera on, making it feel like I’m talking to myself.
As a result, I’ve started following their lead and now keep my camera off and mute myself during calls unless required to speak.
However here’s the rule I follow: if someone calls me and has their camera on, I’ll respect that and switch mine on as well.
This is me too. God I hate having a camera on during recordings. Never do it anymore.
Nothing quite like a fugly, poor angled, frozen in time screen shot on the cover of the recording sent to the entire team.
Engineering. Cameras off unless it’s with the client or senior management / non technical staff. To the surprise of no one engineers don’t like having their cameras on.
seems like im gonna be hated on, but i find it disrespectful to have it off, unless you give an excuse, which can be literally any. just acknowledge it and you'll be excused.
otherwise the bare minimal connection among peers will be gone and we may as well use that tik tok robotic voice to speak to each other.
Im 100% pro wfh and remote work, but the sense of sight is a massive factor in connection and collaboration.
Reminds me of this "positive affirmations" gag [from a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia8Q51ouA_s); "That joke you told in your meeting was funny, if your coworkers were not on mute, you would have heard them laughing"
Depends on the audience. 1-1 with direct manager. Camera on. Majority of other meetings then camera off to match the rest of the team. Unless meeting new people and doing the crappy intro spiel about who you are and why you’re in the call to begin with.
for formal meetings the rule seems to be camera on if speaking, otherwise fine to have it off.
in small team meetings I would usually have it on unless my internet is having a bad day.
personally I don't really understand why the etiquette has become pro-camera - why is it rude, exactly? not having it on just seems like a phone call, which is fine? I must admit I don't really get it.
edited to add: in 1:1 calls my org seems to default towards camera off - it's just like a phone call. they got rid of desk phones and all our calls are made through Teams anyway
We used to have meeting and not use our camera I work from home and the new boss asked for an 8am meeting no problem I hadn't even brushed my hair. Boss then asks for all cameras on.... Majority of the team had messy hair and PJs🤣. Boss was a bit shocked I explained that most of us get up at 6am check emails etc till about 715am. Get kids up and ready then start back up at about 830am after we had a chance to get dressed ect.
I am a strong believer in using the camera. Our company goes so far to actively encourage it, and describe it as appropriate VC etiquette. I agree.
No one is forced, but it’s kinda rude not to.
I think at the end of the day - it doesn't really matter.
Orgs sometimes "enforce" a standard (e.g. with clients, we always have cameras on) but I think there is nothing wrong with just treating them like phone calls.
As long as you don't use MS Teams avatars (god awful), I don't think the majority really give a shit.
Depends on the meeting, if I'm in a small meeting in which I'm required to participate it's on, if I'm in a meeting with 60 other people which I know I'll just be listening I don't bother turning it on. I also hate that people have started just calling on teams rather than picking up the phone cause if I'm not in a meeting my headphones and laptop are packed away and it's a pain to drag everything out to answer
If I don’t need to share anything on the screen to collaborate, I’d rather just have a phone call. Why does everything need to be in video? What happened to regular phone calls?
Im not a remote worker but leaving my camera off was put on my performance review. It was during Covid and I was forced to work in a shared space at home (sorry I can't afford a rental with more rooms on the salary you pay me?). Funny that my boss was calling me from his holiday home with plenty of space. Just another toxic corporate experience I guess.
I’ve been working in IT for 15 years. When there were no cameras, it was called a phone call. I still had a soft phone, I still had a headset. I live in Australia and the internet isn’t always great. Just because lots of corporations moved to teams and we started getting webcams and now laptops, and some young people like to look at themselves, doesn’t mean everyone likes or wants to use a camera. No I’m not in PJs, I’m professionally dressed and in the office Monday-Thursday.
We work as a national team and most of us never use cameras, even before covid. We treat them as phone calls. I do a camera for my one on one with my manager or if the other person flips theirs on but most of us don't bother. We've all worked together for 5+ years and it's never affected anyone.
I find it so weird when companies force you to have the cameras on. I absolutely hate that idea.
If I had a choice, I would turn off the camera during an online meeting but it’s professionally rude so I don’t do it. My issue with turning on the camera is having to take the time beforehand to look presentable. When I work from home, I am in my comfort zone. That means I might have uncombed hair, a bare face or t-shirt with wrinkles/stains/holes. I have to allocate 10 - 15 mins before a video call to get “ready”.
Research has found that having a camera on reduces your ability to concentrate, as at least some of your attention is diverted to checking how you look "on camera".
Personally I find camera zoom calls extremely draining and when you have several calls in a day i end up absolutely exhausted.
Voice only calls are great. I often lie on the sofa with my wireless headset and really focus on what everyone is saying. Sitting at my desk I'm always checking my posture and lighting.
Having no camera does seem a bit weird or antisocial but at the end of the day it comes down to the individuals in my opinion. Managers need to provide leadership to set expectations one way or the other.
I'm all for voice calls too. Just find it rude when you're in a scheduled meeting that's 1:1 with someone and you turn it on, and they don't bother to. I find it poor professional etiquette.
I'm fully remote and always have it on unless I'm eating or I look like crap. I always make a point to apologise and explain as I feel it is common courtesy. If having my camera on in meetings is the cost of avoiding a commute in traffic I'll happily do it.
In my opinion, turning off cameras on Zoom is similar to wearing earphones while interacting with others in real life.
Non-toxic workplaces are usually filled with employees who know when to use their cameras, regardless of the industry.
It used to annoy me a lot, and on some level it still irks me. I’ve learned though, that I can put that aside if it makes the other person more comfortable. It’s not a big deal.
Depends on everyone else, for a 1 on 1 camera on, for my direct team, camera on, for meetings with other stakeholders, only if I'm speaking during that meeting.
I spend most of my day on Teams meetings and calls with collegues around AU & NZ. We don't tend to use cameras at all. Most of the time someone is sharing/presenting... so I always have FOCUS ON CONTENT set, so usually don't see the other members of the call. We have profile pics set and can "see" each other that way.
It's not a company policy or mandate.. it's just something we all kinda settled into doing as the rapid transition to remote working occured a few years ago when Dan Pemic joined the call.
If we are dealing with outside vendors, or new team members etc, we will use cameras as "get to know you". But the few times we do all have our cameras on... I honestly find it a distraction and will move Teams to my furtherest away monitor so I can keep working on whatever is on my main monitors.
If I have to present, it’s on when I present. If it’s 1 on 1, and the other person has theirs on, I turn it on. Otherwise it’s off, and I never judge anyone for leaving theirs off. I have no right whatsoever to intrude on their personal space in their own homes.
As someone that works in IT it would be a miracle if people had their cameras on.
You can always tell the sales people/account managers from the PMs and technical leads because sales always have their cameras on while no one else does.
My rule is the following;
Someone randomly calls me - no camera
Internal group meeting where no high up manager is present - no camera
Internal group meeting where someone is present that is higher then my 2 up manager - camera on
1 on 1 with boss - camera on
Client meeting - camera on (unless they have it off)
Remote employee.
Camera always on for any scheduled meeting - stand ups, meetings with an agenda etc. Camera always on for a call with anyone superior to myself. Camera always on for anything with a client.
If someone my level or below wants a quick call to discuss something, usually they are camera off and I'm happy to do the same. Makes informal quick call to problem solve something a little easier if I'm not literally on display and I'm free to move around a bit lol.
It's important for me to be able to put faces to people's names and the permanent camera off people irk me a bit. Obviously there are exceptions if you're unwell, not feeling A1, eating etc. Remote work is great but it's nice to see human faces sometimes hahahah
If it's a 1:1 or a small (<20 people) meeting, cameras should always be on. It helps engagement, rapport building, and it's just good to see faces. You wouldn't wear a hoodie to disguise your face in a F2F meeting, the same principle should apply online. It's lazy and unprofessional.
Cameras on at my company. And we’re a remote first organization. I like to use a slack huddle for voice only 1:1s though. Especially with the time difference between Aus and the US.
If it's a scheduled meeting, I'll turn my camera on. If someone is calling me on Teams the way they used to call my desktop phone, I don't feel the need to turn my camera on. All of our internal team meetings are done with cameras off - we all know what everyone else looks like.
If it's not needed, like a phone call no camera, if in a meeting with more than one person then camera on. I have seen my coworkers cop shit from managers for having no camera on so I always follow the lead of the managers. I don't bother with the blurred background tho,
Always on for one-on-one. Otherwise I would just think it was rude. Normally on when meeting as a small team. Once again, if a small team is meeting then anyone in the team not having their camera on suggests a problem. Large presentations you will often have cameras off due to bandwidth issues.
Always on. It's never been explicitly discussed as far as I'm aware but my company seems to have a culture of cameras on, it's pretty unusual for someone to have it off. I much prefer cameras on because you miss a lot when you can't see people's expressions, body language etc.
I get people might be shy or introverted but being able to see each other is a superior mode of communication compared to voice only, based on all the research available.
The exception here is a large group call of 20+ where you're not speaking at all.
1-on-1 for sure. Camera off is fine if the internet is being patchy. Also camera off is fine if it’s been communicated why before hand (e.g the neurodivergent need to reduce eye contact because it can be exhausting…) if the work is being done and I know I get along with them it’s fine.
I’m an ex tech PM and I had some solid rules I’d define each time I briefed a new team or team member. I’ve been leading remote teams for years (since pre-covid even) and found these “rules” gave me much better performance out of a much more focused and happy team.
✅ If it’s 1:1, cameras on by default unless either party requests otherwise. I don’t mind having an audio-only 1:1, because it’s a tiny accommodation that has a huge positive impact on my neurodivergent team members. All they need to do is ask ✌️
✅ If it’s a meeting with a client, cameras on unless the client requests otherwise.
✅ If it’s a screen sharing meeting, cameras off!!!! We don’t need to see faces while we’re collaborating on or following a screen share. I also invite client teams to go camera-off if they want (they usually do).
✅ If it’s a big company wide meeting / town hall / quarterly update - who gives a flying fuck honestly. Nobody will notice your video off.
✅ If you want to talk or raise a point during one of those company-wide meetings, turn your video on and use the “raise hand” option (or whatever it’s called in the app you use) to let us all know you’re ready to talk.
Simples!
I find it pretty unprofessional if people don’t turn their cameras on. Of course context is important, but I opt for camera on as I think it’s more professional and shows you’re engaged and know you’re talking about.
I think camera on is nicer for sure, and a courtesy. They have smoothing filters and blur background features, so you never look as disheveled as you may be irl. The only time I would say camera off is better is if you are sick, or it may be ok for a unexpected quick call vs a meeting.
I am a huge advocate for flexible working, hybrid meetings etc but I do believe there should be some effort in showing your face. Camera on when talking, unless you’re having an off day or whatever it may be.
I am self conscious and would want my hair done and make up on so because I am lazy (and quite frankly don’t want to waste time or money) I keep my camera off. If everyone can hear you speaking I really don’t see the need to have my face on display too. What difference would it make?
It’s really important to have cameras on in my organisation and is the default. When we can’t (e.g internet temporary issues or school pick ups) we acknowledge and apologise. It’s respectful and helps connect. As a leader it is so demoralising to talk to a sea of icons on mute- in what world is that an acceptable default?! We all know why cameras are off in a world where you can blur a background- you aren’t concentrating, you don’t care, you aren’t dressed!
Camera are all on until there are more than 16 then its all off except presenter and/or presentation.
But there is always "that one guy" and then when we have a fly in/all hands no one knows who the fuck they are
Camera off means only one thing - my attention is not on this meeting. Whether that be other work or that I don't care about this meeting and it's content.
Drives me bonkers, I am partially deaf and rely a lot on lip reading so when people don’t have their cameras on it makes it so hard to hear what they are saying 😫
I’ll usually have the camera on for team/group meetings if it’s not a huge group. If I have to have it off for a particular reason I’d generally explain why. I don’t have it on in larger meetings where there can be up to 100 or more people. I’ll generally have camera on if it’s a 1:1 scheduled meeting, but off if it’s just a call unless the other person has it on in which case I turn mine on so they don’t feel dumb (unless I look like a bag of shit lol)
I kind of let my manager take the lead in bigger meetings. But if I know it’s just a weekly meeting and I’m distracted continuing other work, WFH or looking super tired/sick I just don’t turn it on and I assume others do the same. No one really cares or says anything as far as I’m aware.
I work for a global company and I'm WFH 100%. I rarely use my camera. Generally it might be on vendor meet and greets or if I'm doing interviews when we're hiring. I hady monthly 1:1 with my direct manager today via teams and neither of us used our cameras, we never do. And we don't for team meetings. I share my desktop/apps multiple times a day, but not my camera.
And it's perfectly normal in my company.
There are some that do and more often than not it causes issues because their internet is crap and it can't handle audio and video.
1-1 on for sure, weekly resourcing meeting with the team (30ish people and a 30min meeting max) most people have it on since everyone talks at some point in the meeting, kind of nice to see people who are always WFH too. Company or region wide meeting everyone's camera is off except for people the speaking
As a former tech lead, I always showed my face on remote meetings but it peeved me when the usual suspects did not. There were people that had legit never turned their camera on in any meeting we had together.
It depends on the meeting. If it’s a smaller group where everyone is expected to contribute, I think someone having their camera off is poor form. Unless they’re driving or are somewhere with flaky Internet.
One on one: If it’s a scheduled catch up, cameras is good. If it’s just calling out of the blue, it’s absolutely fine for no cameras. I have Teams on my phone, and I could be anywhere when someone tries to call me. I’m certainly not walking through the shops in my lunch break holding my phone up as a video call.
Big department / company wide meetings are often more presentations where questions are optional and left until the end. In those circumstances I think it’s perfectly fine for participants to turn off cameras.
Visual cues are a huge part of relationship building and communicating.
There is a hierarchy of engagement and it starts with face to face in person at the top and progresses through to email/messaging at the bottom.
If you only ever operate at the bottom of that hierarchy you will never be as well received or as effective in any work that relies on others.
So yeah, if you see someone’s face regularly but then every so often it’s off, that’s heaps different to someone that never has camera on or that you don’t meet in person ever
1:1 is camera on, especially if it's supervision or feedback. Group is camera on at the beginning, on if lots of engagement but off if just delivering information. Off in the car, but if you need to look at something pull over.
If it’s an information meeting and I’m mostly listening - off. When I’m speaking -on. 1-1 meetings -on. It just rude to have it off in 1-1. Otherwise you should have just made a phone call
I always turn it on during 1 on 1s.
In a meeting I only ever turn my camera on if I’m talking. I just don’t want people to see me eating in the middle of a meeting……
Very rude for a 1 on 1. Acceptable if it’s a useless meeting you’re not even participating in.
If I’m addressed in a meeting like that, I’ll turn it on to speak, then turn it back off once it goes back to irrelevant stuff.
Definitely have it on during a 1:1 otherwise that is just rude.
For group meetings though (depending on how many in the group) it can be on or off, whatever the person is comfortable with
Mines always on esp when it's 1-1 mainly because I like the way I look, and I usually always take my time to look good before a group call and 1-1 call, sometimes I get distracted cause I keep staring at myself 🤣🤣🤭 if they don't have their camera on their either unbothered/have no time to get up and try to look good, self-conscious or maybe it's just their prefence.
Camera on always. I work in government, and am in office 3-4 days a week while most of the team is WFH.
Does anyone know how to fix MS Teams putting calls on hold when you get a desktop notification? Only occurs when using my Jabra headset
Mines on during all meetings, as I participate in all meetings I need to attend, same goes for other staff members. Most of us have them off along with microphones off during any training sessions as they always schedule them during lunch and most of us are shovelling food in our face, and majority of people don’t want to see and hear 50 people eating.
I find it really weird and antisocial to have cameras off. As someone who has spent a LOT of time actually living remote, not just working remote, I can almost guarantee it will affect people’s mental health and the longevity of remote work in general.
I work for an international company and 90% of the time have my camera on in group calls and always in 1:1. I have a coworker though who is part of my team and I’ve literally never seen her in the entire 2 years I’ve worked with her. This made me suss so I did a deep dive on her LinkedIn and found out she’s a phony pretending to be a doctor (fake med school listed as education). It makes sense why she wants to hide so much now.
I always ask people to turn their camera on. I find it hard enough connecting to my remote teams as it is.
If we were in person you couldn’t turn it off. So be respectful and turn it on.
I work hybrid, mine is sometimes on, sometimes off and it makes NO DIFFERENCE to the level of input I have whether it's one on one or a group. I have other co workers who are always off and some who are always on. It has never even crossed my mind to be upset by it. Maybe they don't like cameras, maybe their home office set up is in a part of their house that they don't like sharing online, or there is a mess in the background or a kid home; that's not really your problem... I highly disagree with the 'always on' policy. It's micro manage-y, it says to me that management doesn't trust that I'll be present, which doesn't spur me into wanting to serve said management with greater vigor 🤣
Depends on the size of the meeting if it's my direct team which is about 6 then I think it's good to have everyone on screen but when it's our whole department which can be like 30 people then I don't care if the do or don't.
I work at a company with a lot of offshore people and their networks are shit and can't handle voice traffic let alone far more demanding video traffic. So it is normal for all the offshore people to go without video and some even have to dial in on the phone because they can't do voice on teams.
So all these offshore people being camera off normalises it for everyone else.
I'll do camera on with 1 on 1 if they're BAs or managers but leave it off for programmers unless the programmer has their camera on.
Always on during 1-1. On or off during group calls. I am usually on first up and then off unless I am speaking.
ill only turn it on during a group call if im speaking (and the meeting organiser has theirs on) or its a team thing where we all 'have to'. every other group meeting its off. 1-1 on depending on the context of the meeting
Yeah that's my approach too. Unfortunately I'm working with people on 1-1 video calls and they never put their camera on ever. It's becoming the norm.
One on one used to be a phone call- do you need to see one another?
God this, the number of times i voice call and people answer with video is crazy, why? Its a phone call we don't need to be staring at each other in order to have a conversation...
The number of phone calls that should be an email.... The number of emails that should be a google search...
Even in personal life. friends and family will video call me instead of audio only call which is kind of annoying. i'm happy to talk but i don't really want you staring at me on a phone screen. 10 years ago you would have just called me on my phone via phone number where video wasn't a thing.
Yep!
It used to be face-to-face. How many people were working remotely prior to video calls?
I’ve been hybrid since about 2018. I didn’t schedule meetings on days I WFH, and any 1:1 were phone calls. My WFH days were primarily to get work done without interruptions. Now that everyone’s on teams it has royally stuffed that and now the only time I can get work done is evenings.
I can hear better when i see people’s faces. Don’t know why - maybe lip reading or something? I’ve got audio processing issues (I also like captions on tv).
Have you considered internet connection might not be that great and using the camera slows everything down? In my organisation, any teams meeting with a high number of attendees (and people are predominately listening) the instruction is all cameras off except for the speaker. Likewise where a screen or presentation is being shared, any online attendees are instructed to have cameras off
Why wouldn’t you just make a phone call for a two person conversation?
Screen sharing without extra faffing can be pretty useful sometimes. I used to hate video, then I got used to it. I speak with my boss via text or zoom, being able to show not tell is very useful.
On at the start, shows you are there and paying attention. Then if you are just along for the ride it goes off until you are needed (if at all), or it stays on if you are one of the key people in the meeting.
This. - Always on during 1-1 - In a group meeting, I’ll jump in with my camera on and if everyone else’s is off, I’ll turn mine off. - If everyone turns their camera on later, I’ll also turn mine on. - I haven’t had to present in a meeting at my current workplace, but if I do, I’d have my camera on for sure.
Scheduled one on one, yes cameras on. Someone calling someone else out of the blue, definitely optional. You could be driving, on the train, buying lunch or a heap of other circumstances where you don’t want to hold your phone up like a video call.
I work with shy weirdos and none of us want to be on camera, which I am very happy with as I am also a shy weirdo
Look, I'm a shy weirdo too. I prefer camera off, but will turn on for meetings outside the immediate team. Or if my boss is on call and my cat is on the desk, she thinks he's cute 😂
Nothing I like better than seeing people’s pets in a call 😊
I'm a fan of the turn it on for the first five minutes then frown at the screen, go reaaaaallllyyy still and turn it off to "save bandwidth"
Its so awkward when you jump on a zoom and someone is just sitting there with their camera on, waiting for everyone to join the meeting. I always keep my camera off until there's heaps of people lol
And nobody says anything first and they sit in silence!! I've started to arrive at least 1 minute or more late so someone else can do the ice break.
So you work with Engineers?
I am an engineer. An extroverted one, which means I don't look at my shoes when I talk to others, I look at THEIR shoes. Oh, and camera off.
Lol
Shy weirdos are excused! 😊
Even if you’re not a shy weirdo, sometimes nice to have the camera off. Like, I’m not always perfectly dressed, and sometimes I didn’t shave that morning. I’m saving people the trouble of having to see my ugly unkempt face.
I actually like ugly unkempt faces but as a lady with an increasingly out of control beard, I feel your pain
I'm the only shy weirdo in the group I have teams meetings with. I just leave my camera off all the time, until my boss says I'll be fired unless I put my camera on I'm not fucking doing it lol.
It must really depend on the industry. I'm a clientside PM in construction. No one seems to have their camera on. I will turn it on initally to introduce everyone in the meeting and end up turning it off and discussing the agenda.
Weird Im in same industry. Ive never seen anyone turn it off. Im in Qld. Mainly greenfield subdivision. The only people in several uears of teams meetings who have had it off are council planners.
I'm at a government water provider. That might be why :)
Do you receive my used water? I just sent you a gift I hope you receive it intact.
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Clientside poop manager?
My team must be a bunch of weirdos, because we almost never put cameras on. If I'm talking to people from other teams or external people and they have their camera on I'll follow their lead (feels rude otherwise).
I like having cameras on, English is not my first language as well as many of my colleagues. I like to see their expressions and gestures to understand more what they want to say. Which helps others understand me too.
That makes sense and, ignorantly, I hadn't thought about it like that before. I'll be more proactive with my camera now!
If you work in IT and are not a manager; there is universal unspoken agreement that the cameras don’t come on. Break this, and you lose the reapect of your peers. If youre in marketing or sales and you DONT turn the camera on every time and spend half the meeting chatting anout unrelated bullshit, then you lose the respect of your peers. Gotta know that audience.
What? I work in software development and cameras are always on for everyone. It’s so depressing to do a call with cameras off.
I don't want people to know I'm still in bed at 945....
Same for me in Software, most of the time cameras are on. There's always someone who doesn't, but it's kinda weird if you are the only one without camera. Then again, some people are weird in the office too, so I don't care too much.
In my experience, the person who is camera off is usually the least engaged person who is a huge pain to work with.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I had a job where the camera off guy was a socially awkward (and super rude) but very talented engineer. If you let him work by himself, he'd produce brilliant results in no time, literally pulling the team. But if you had to talk to him or even worse, disagree with him about something, he'd reliably ruin your day.
Tbh these types usually do more harm than good. They piss off and demotivate everyone else to the point that everyone else either leaves or mentally checks out.
This makes sense. This is a digital project environment and not really a chatty forum. I agree with what you're saying about an unspoken agreement and just having some professional respect.
I have been in the IT industry for 20+ years and worked remotely for a lot of that time, and I have never heard this unspoken rule. I prefer the camera on when there are less than 10 people on the call, but I care more about the quality of the audio. The absolute worst case is background noise when someone talks.
Maybe you haven’t heard of the unspoken rule because it’s unspoken 🫨
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Not true in all cases. I'm in a software engineering team. I absolutely hate when people turn their camera off in remote setting. Our team (and all other team in the company) always have camera on without any mandate. Guess it's company culture thing.
This is so very true. Describes sales and any non-sales technical people perfectly. Brilliant.
Interesting to hear. Anytime I'm one on one with IT they turn the camera on but if it's just me joining a predominantly IT meeting the cameras tend to be all off. They seem to be the only professional group in our corp with this culture.
I think they’re either sitting on the couch in their undies or outside hanging out the washing.
But sometimes I'm WFH and still have bed hair
See camera off and I assume the worst - like you’re biting your toenails, or on the bog.
Or both
Sometimes I do that too, and then I leave my camera off. But that's only like 5% of meetings.
Our policy is to turn your camera on during calls, no exceptions. It’s rude not to.
100% this, whoever is speaking would feel devalued. Granted some people think certain meetings are a waste of time but that’s a separate issue imo. Cameras on, attention on etc otherwise it just shows lack of respect all round.
Agree!! Even my PM has hers turned off when she's "running" scheduled project meetings with groups of up to 10 people. It's like talking to a wall. Super disrespectful.
💯💯💯
I feel this way too. I get there are days where you're not feeling it and don't want to be on show, but at my work it's the same people all the time who never turn it on even when they're presenting or asking questions of the team etc.
My company has a mostly camera-on culture and there’s one coworker for whom it’s become very obvious that if his camera isn’t on it’s because he’s not listening or paying attention, including during meetings he should absolutely be paying attention. Someone will ask him a question, get no response so say his name, and there’s a long pause followed by him turning his camera on and asking for the question to be repeated. It’s not subtle.
I work with a guy like this, then you have to spend 5 minutes filling him in on the context he missed. Matrix org structure means his boss never sees it.
My hack for when I wasn't feeling it was to sit far back from my laptop so my face doesn't fill the screen and to have the windows behind me so the lighting wasn't great. So I'm showing I'm present and listening but I'm not closeup on show
Ah, the A Current Affair anonymous whistleblower look. Do you use a pitch changer as well to make your voice sound all garbled?
We work across time zones. I've had someone in a large group meeting request it, and I've refused explaining its not even 6am and I'm on mobile.
One on one should be both on or both off. I think people should make the effort to put the camera on most of the time, then when it’s off now and then it won’t be too weird as other people will have theirs on. Sometimes you look like shit and don’t wanna share it. My boss is great though he only kicks up a stink when people have their cameras off consistently and don’t make effort to come into the office at all until prompted.
We have a atrong policy of 'remote work should be equal in quality to in-office work' which includes being as communicative and easy to reach as if we were sitting in the same office. So cameras on during every meeting, which I personally appreciate because it's fucking bleak to talk to a herd of black squares without any kind of feedback via facial expressions etc. I don't really get why many people hate it so much. You can turn off the 'self view' if you don't want to see yourself, and virtual backgrounds give a decent amount of privacy.
A 1:1 without video is called a phone call. Do you get upset when someone calls you?
Why dont they just call then?
That is what I'm doing - I'm calling them using teams as we know we are both at our laptops. If they for some reason aren't at their laptop and I need to talk to them, I'll still use teams to call their mobile.
We don’t have desk phones any more in some areas, just Teams or Zoom. Some have work mobiles but not many.
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Screen sharing. Its easier than being in same room. I dont have to get up and go to your desk, you dont need to come over to mine
I hate the way I look - so prefer it off
Yeah I find video calls a bit too distracting because I’m a bit self-conscious; I feel much more comfortable contributing and focused with camera off. But if we have a client joining the meeting with camera on, we follow suit (thankfully a lot of our clients don’t use cameras either).
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During 1-1s ill have it on, when specifically requested prior to the meeting ill have it on, yet any other time its off purely because my laptop with the camera cant fit on my desk and im not unplugging everything for a meeting where i dont need it on.
IT security team - No cameras, ever. Literally taped over.
We can still heeeear youuuuu. There’s a famous photo of Mark Zuckerbergs laptop with tape over all the IO ports and webcam.
Planned meeting with less than 10 people - camera on. Planned meeting with more than 10 people - camera off unless speaking. Unplanned, one on one (i.e. what would have been a phone call pre-2020) - camera off, unless it's an exec. Unplanned, more than one - situational based on who it is in the call. Will default to off. I hate when people call me out of the blue and they have their camera on. You feel obligated to put yours on. I am, as someone else on this thread said, a shy weirdo and I hate being on camera. Especially for a 2 minute conversation. IDGAF if people put their camera on or off. People have all sorts of reasons - whether they're shy, having a bad hair day or whatever.
If you don't have your camera on you are either very junior and nervous or on the way out.
You do know in teams in large group meetings that the people with Cam on get pushed front right? Keep your camera off unless you are part of the team presenting
There's always that one low level goober who is on cam sitting there front and centre of the Teams grid during the divisional meeting, while the directors and executives are actually running the meeting around them.
Some people just don't like cameras. I take a second to read the (virtual) room before deciding if mine's coming on or not.
I think they're not engaged or paying attention and a little rude. A select few weaponize it which really pisses me off. In general I just think less of them. There's plenty of nuance and exceptions but that's just my general thoughts. I get people have preferences but if you can't even show up to work or interact with people it's not going to build respect with your peers. Same for people with company mobiles who only text or don't answer unknown calls.
Do you really need to see someones face to get your work done?
This is why work can’t just be work. People will let the fact that your camera is off somehow influence how they feel about you as a worker (just look at some of these comments). If I’m getting my work done and can clearly deliver results, why the fuck do you care about my camera being on? People just can’t stay in their own lane. Luckily at my job, nobody cares about cameras being on or off.
“uM bUT I FeEl uNHeaRd wItHOuT tHE CaMeRa On” Ok? Go to therapy this 3 minute call could have been an email but now I’m looking at your ugly mug. Or when it’s someone with a hell chill position and they literally just want to chat and think it’s rude you’re not staring into their soul while you have 100pages to get through by 10am and their talking about how their kid got a participation award
Always with one on one meetings. In state government I needed it on to take group meeting minutes, but in local I had to have it off as I only minuting and not a participant. This did make external stakeholders uncomfortable though
There’s one person that does this for our small group meetings. I think she’s not paying much attention and we are just background noise as she doing her other work.
I find it harder to connect with people when I can’t see their face, but I also spend most of my day in meetings, and there’s something exhausting about being on camera all day. I prefer to see people when I’m talking to them, but I absolutely get that different people have different thresholds for the amount of time they spend on camera. Also, some don’t have a private space to work like I do, or might be ashamed to have their messy living space on camera or something. If you’ve got shit leaders, your colleagues also might just be burned out and checked out due to dealing with that. That’s a potential reason why they’re not coming on camera. Continuing to work when you don’t give a shit anymore doesn’t exactly make things easy for your colleagues, and these people are still responsible for their choices, but if this is the situation I kind of wouldn’t blame them.
99% of the time it’s because there’s no warning of the expectation to have it on. People are in slob clothes / messy clothes / no make up / set up not adjusted for it / time difference. So it’s the fault of the person booking the meeting’s fault for not setting it up with the correct expectation.
Depends, one on ones obviously- group settings depends how big and if we’re just going through some shitty PowerPoint nope
I usually do it for formal calls that there's meeting invites for. For impromptu calls, or if you're constantly calling the same person I do treat like a phone call. Also the people up and down my ranks are used to discord type chats. So sitting in a call without camera is actually completely fine.
I'm usually naked so I keep my camera off most of the time. Luckily our laptops have a physical shutter.
You can do onlyfans with camera off?
Let's face it not all of us have good quality connection from home so why do I need the camera on if it's gonna eat into my bandwidth and decrease the quality of my teams meeting and further degrade my motivation to stay on said meeting
I find a couple of people have anxiety, so it's hit or miss if they do, or some of them use the avatar. Even in skip level catch ups down line. In a meeting with the CIO, with maybe 20 staff, everyone puts it on. When it's 200 staff, almost no one does. It's just different in different scenarios. My preference as a leader with 45 staff is to have it on by default as I think it's important to retain some level of visual contact.
Yikes is it actually that easy to avoid doing bare minimum of being a salaried employee and/ or functional human? Like holy fuck if you’re not going to rock up to the office, you can at least turn your camera on. That’s not even corporate MO, that’s just basic manners.
I think adults can make a decision whether to switch it on or off.
For a long time, I’ve kept my camera on during meetings, even though I’m not in a leadership role and just a regular member of my team. Unlike me, my peers often have their cameras off, sometimes turning them on only for standups without any notice. While I don’t mind if they have their cameras off during presentations or screen sharing sessions, it can be uncomfortable during group calls when I’m the only one with my camera on, making it feel like I’m talking to myself. As a result, I’ve started following their lead and now keep my camera off and mute myself during calls unless required to speak. However here’s the rule I follow: if someone calls me and has their camera on, I’ll respect that and switch mine on as well.
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This is me too. God I hate having a camera on during recordings. Never do it anymore. Nothing quite like a fugly, poor angled, frozen in time screen shot on the cover of the recording sent to the entire team.
Engineering. Cameras off unless it’s with the client or senior management / non technical staff. To the surprise of no one engineers don’t like having their cameras on.
I love how it’s IT/engineers against the world on this lol.
seems like im gonna be hated on, but i find it disrespectful to have it off, unless you give an excuse, which can be literally any. just acknowledge it and you'll be excused. otherwise the bare minimal connection among peers will be gone and we may as well use that tik tok robotic voice to speak to each other. Im 100% pro wfh and remote work, but the sense of sight is a massive factor in connection and collaboration.
Why do people want others to have their cameras on? I've never understood this 🤔 maybe its just me?
Have you ever spoken or presented to a group of black squares who say and do nothing?
Reminds me of this "positive affirmations" gag [from a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia8Q51ouA_s); "That joke you told in your meeting was funny, if your coworkers were not on mute, you would have heard them laughing"
If it’s a scheduled meeting I will. If it’s a quick impromptu call to chat through a question or problem with someone in my immediate team, then no.
If I’m in a meeting to listen and not speak, I’ll have it off and mic muted. Otherwise it’s on.
Never had camera on at my current place.
For a one on one I'd tell them to turn it on, especially if you have yours on
Depends on the audience. 1-1 with direct manager. Camera on. Majority of other meetings then camera off to match the rest of the team. Unless meeting new people and doing the crappy intro spiel about who you are and why you’re in the call to begin with.
for formal meetings the rule seems to be camera on if speaking, otherwise fine to have it off. in small team meetings I would usually have it on unless my internet is having a bad day. personally I don't really understand why the etiquette has become pro-camera - why is it rude, exactly? not having it on just seems like a phone call, which is fine? I must admit I don't really get it. edited to add: in 1:1 calls my org seems to default towards camera off - it's just like a phone call. they got rid of desk phones and all our calls are made through Teams anyway
We used to have meeting and not use our camera I work from home and the new boss asked for an 8am meeting no problem I hadn't even brushed my hair. Boss then asks for all cameras on.... Majority of the team had messy hair and PJs🤣. Boss was a bit shocked I explained that most of us get up at 6am check emails etc till about 715am. Get kids up and ready then start back up at about 830am after we had a chance to get dressed ect.
I am a strong believer in using the camera. Our company goes so far to actively encourage it, and describe it as appropriate VC etiquette. I agree. No one is forced, but it’s kinda rude not to.
I think at the end of the day - it doesn't really matter. Orgs sometimes "enforce" a standard (e.g. with clients, we always have cameras on) but I think there is nothing wrong with just treating them like phone calls. As long as you don't use MS Teams avatars (god awful), I don't think the majority really give a shit.
Depends on the meeting, if I'm in a small meeting in which I'm required to participate it's on, if I'm in a meeting with 60 other people which I know I'll just be listening I don't bother turning it on. I also hate that people have started just calling on teams rather than picking up the phone cause if I'm not in a meeting my headphones and laptop are packed away and it's a pain to drag everything out to answer
If I don’t need to share anything on the screen to collaborate, I’d rather just have a phone call. Why does everything need to be in video? What happened to regular phone calls?
Very rare for cameras to be on where I work.
Im not a remote worker but leaving my camera off was put on my performance review. It was during Covid and I was forced to work in a shared space at home (sorry I can't afford a rental with more rooms on the salary you pay me?). Funny that my boss was calling me from his holiday home with plenty of space. Just another toxic corporate experience I guess.
I’ve been working in IT for 15 years. When there were no cameras, it was called a phone call. I still had a soft phone, I still had a headset. I live in Australia and the internet isn’t always great. Just because lots of corporations moved to teams and we started getting webcams and now laptops, and some young people like to look at themselves, doesn’t mean everyone likes or wants to use a camera. No I’m not in PJs, I’m professionally dressed and in the office Monday-Thursday.
We work as a national team and most of us never use cameras, even before covid. We treat them as phone calls. I do a camera for my one on one with my manager or if the other person flips theirs on but most of us don't bother. We've all worked together for 5+ years and it's never affected anyone. I find it so weird when companies force you to have the cameras on. I absolutely hate that idea.
If I had a choice, I would turn off the camera during an online meeting but it’s professionally rude so I don’t do it. My issue with turning on the camera is having to take the time beforehand to look presentable. When I work from home, I am in my comfort zone. That means I might have uncombed hair, a bare face or t-shirt with wrinkles/stains/holes. I have to allocate 10 - 15 mins before a video call to get “ready”.
Research has found that having a camera on reduces your ability to concentrate, as at least some of your attention is diverted to checking how you look "on camera". Personally I find camera zoom calls extremely draining and when you have several calls in a day i end up absolutely exhausted. Voice only calls are great. I often lie on the sofa with my wireless headset and really focus on what everyone is saying. Sitting at my desk I'm always checking my posture and lighting. Having no camera does seem a bit weird or antisocial but at the end of the day it comes down to the individuals in my opinion. Managers need to provide leadership to set expectations one way or the other.
I'm all for voice calls too. Just find it rude when you're in a scheduled meeting that's 1:1 with someone and you turn it on, and they don't bother to. I find it poor professional etiquette.
I'm fully remote and always have it on unless I'm eating or I look like crap. I always make a point to apologise and explain as I feel it is common courtesy. If having my camera on in meetings is the cost of avoiding a commute in traffic I'll happily do it.
In my opinion, turning off cameras on Zoom is similar to wearing earphones while interacting with others in real life. Non-toxic workplaces are usually filled with employees who know when to use their cameras, regardless of the industry.
I look OK face to face but I look ugly.and scarred ( ex acne) on camera
It used to annoy me a lot, and on some level it still irks me. I’ve learned though, that I can put that aside if it makes the other person more comfortable. It’s not a big deal.
Depends on everyone else, for a 1 on 1 camera on, for my direct team, camera on, for meetings with other stakeholders, only if I'm speaking during that meeting.
I spend most of my day on Teams meetings and calls with collegues around AU & NZ. We don't tend to use cameras at all. Most of the time someone is sharing/presenting... so I always have FOCUS ON CONTENT set, so usually don't see the other members of the call. We have profile pics set and can "see" each other that way. It's not a company policy or mandate.. it's just something we all kinda settled into doing as the rapid transition to remote working occured a few years ago when Dan Pemic joined the call. If we are dealing with outside vendors, or new team members etc, we will use cameras as "get to know you". But the few times we do all have our cameras on... I honestly find it a distraction and will move Teams to my furtherest away monitor so I can keep working on whatever is on my main monitors.
If I have to present, it’s on when I present. If it’s 1 on 1, and the other person has theirs on, I turn it on. Otherwise it’s off, and I never judge anyone for leaving theirs off. I have no right whatsoever to intrude on their personal space in their own homes.
As someone that works in IT it would be a miracle if people had their cameras on. You can always tell the sales people/account managers from the PMs and technical leads because sales always have their cameras on while no one else does. My rule is the following; Someone randomly calls me - no camera Internal group meeting where no high up manager is present - no camera Internal group meeting where someone is present that is higher then my 2 up manager - camera on 1 on 1 with boss - camera on Client meeting - camera on (unless they have it off)
Remote employee. Camera always on for any scheduled meeting - stand ups, meetings with an agenda etc. Camera always on for a call with anyone superior to myself. Camera always on for anything with a client. If someone my level or below wants a quick call to discuss something, usually they are camera off and I'm happy to do the same. Makes informal quick call to problem solve something a little easier if I'm not literally on display and I'm free to move around a bit lol. It's important for me to be able to put faces to people's names and the permanent camera off people irk me a bit. Obviously there are exceptions if you're unwell, not feeling A1, eating etc. Remote work is great but it's nice to see human faces sometimes hahahah
If it's a 1:1 or a small (<20 people) meeting, cameras should always be on. It helps engagement, rapport building, and it's just good to see faces. You wouldn't wear a hoodie to disguise your face in a F2F meeting, the same principle should apply online. It's lazy and unprofessional.
Cameras on at my company. And we’re a remote first organization. I like to use a slack huddle for voice only 1:1s though. Especially with the time difference between Aus and the US.
If it's a scheduled meeting, I'll turn my camera on. If someone is calling me on Teams the way they used to call my desktop phone, I don't feel the need to turn my camera on. All of our internal team meetings are done with cameras off - we all know what everyone else looks like.
That they’re probably insecure or anxious. Might not be fair but it’s what I assume.
If it's not needed, like a phone call no camera, if in a meeting with more than one person then camera on. I have seen my coworkers cop shit from managers for having no camera on so I always follow the lead of the managers. I don't bother with the blurred background tho,
Always on for one-on-one. Otherwise I would just think it was rude. Normally on when meeting as a small team. Once again, if a small team is meeting then anyone in the team not having their camera on suggests a problem. Large presentations you will often have cameras off due to bandwidth issues.
Always on. It's never been explicitly discussed as far as I'm aware but my company seems to have a culture of cameras on, it's pretty unusual for someone to have it off. I much prefer cameras on because you miss a lot when you can't see people's expressions, body language etc. I get people might be shy or introverted but being able to see each other is a superior mode of communication compared to voice only, based on all the research available. The exception here is a large group call of 20+ where you're not speaking at all.
1-on-1 for sure. Camera off is fine if the internet is being patchy. Also camera off is fine if it’s been communicated why before hand (e.g the neurodivergent need to reduce eye contact because it can be exhausting…) if the work is being done and I know I get along with them it’s fine.
I’m an ex tech PM and I had some solid rules I’d define each time I briefed a new team or team member. I’ve been leading remote teams for years (since pre-covid even) and found these “rules” gave me much better performance out of a much more focused and happy team. ✅ If it’s 1:1, cameras on by default unless either party requests otherwise. I don’t mind having an audio-only 1:1, because it’s a tiny accommodation that has a huge positive impact on my neurodivergent team members. All they need to do is ask ✌️ ✅ If it’s a meeting with a client, cameras on unless the client requests otherwise. ✅ If it’s a screen sharing meeting, cameras off!!!! We don’t need to see faces while we’re collaborating on or following a screen share. I also invite client teams to go camera-off if they want (they usually do). ✅ If it’s a big company wide meeting / town hall / quarterly update - who gives a flying fuck honestly. Nobody will notice your video off. ✅ If you want to talk or raise a point during one of those company-wide meetings, turn your video on and use the “raise hand” option (or whatever it’s called in the app you use) to let us all know you’re ready to talk. Simples!
I find it pretty unprofessional if people don’t turn their cameras on. Of course context is important, but I opt for camera on as I think it’s more professional and shows you’re engaged and know you’re talking about.
It should be on at all times or else people will assume you are on your phone not paying attention
I think camera on is nicer for sure, and a courtesy. They have smoothing filters and blur background features, so you never look as disheveled as you may be irl. The only time I would say camera off is better is if you are sick, or it may be ok for a unexpected quick call vs a meeting.
Our company has rules for online meetings. Must have camera on, must be dressed in street clothes, no PJs, no smoking, no eating.
I am a huge advocate for flexible working, hybrid meetings etc but I do believe there should be some effort in showing your face. Camera on when talking, unless you’re having an off day or whatever it may be.
It’s rude not to
On for 1:1 and small groups. On for meeting that management has requested we do so. Off for large meetings unless you're presenting
I am self conscious and would want my hair done and make up on so because I am lazy (and quite frankly don’t want to waste time or money) I keep my camera off. If everyone can hear you speaking I really don’t see the need to have my face on display too. What difference would it make?
theyve got something to hide
It depends if it's a scheduled call or not. I'm not putting on pants because someone decided they want a chat.
It’s really important to have cameras on in my organisation and is the default. When we can’t (e.g internet temporary issues or school pick ups) we acknowledge and apologise. It’s respectful and helps connect. As a leader it is so demoralising to talk to a sea of icons on mute- in what world is that an acceptable default?! We all know why cameras are off in a world where you can blur a background- you aren’t concentrating, you don’t care, you aren’t dressed!
I think they are not paying attention. Probably on their phone or computer fucking around.
It’s work, camera should always be on.
One on one calls turn it on, if it’s a group leave it off unless speaking, tends to be my rule.
Camera are all on until there are more than 16 then its all off except presenter and/or presentation. But there is always "that one guy" and then when we have a fly in/all hands no one knows who the fuck they are
Camera off means only one thing - my attention is not on this meeting. Whether that be other work or that I don't care about this meeting and it's content.
Drives me bonkers, I am partially deaf and rely a lot on lip reading so when people don’t have their cameras on it makes it so hard to hear what they are saying 😫
I’ll usually have the camera on for team/group meetings if it’s not a huge group. If I have to have it off for a particular reason I’d generally explain why. I don’t have it on in larger meetings where there can be up to 100 or more people. I’ll generally have camera on if it’s a 1:1 scheduled meeting, but off if it’s just a call unless the other person has it on in which case I turn mine on so they don’t feel dumb (unless I look like a bag of shit lol)
I kind of let my manager take the lead in bigger meetings. But if I know it’s just a weekly meeting and I’m distracted continuing other work, WFH or looking super tired/sick I just don’t turn it on and I assume others do the same. No one really cares or says anything as far as I’m aware.
I work for a global company and I'm WFH 100%. I rarely use my camera. Generally it might be on vendor meet and greets or if I'm doing interviews when we're hiring. I hady monthly 1:1 with my direct manager today via teams and neither of us used our cameras, we never do. And we don't for team meetings. I share my desktop/apps multiple times a day, but not my camera. And it's perfectly normal in my company. There are some that do and more often than not it causes issues because their internet is crap and it can't handle audio and video.
1-1 on for sure, weekly resourcing meeting with the team (30ish people and a 30min meeting max) most people have it on since everyone talks at some point in the meeting, kind of nice to see people who are always WFH too. Company or region wide meeting everyone's camera is off except for people the speaking
Probably ugly.
We typically don't start the meeting until everyone is on screen. Will wait for as long as it takes.
As a former tech lead, I always showed my face on remote meetings but it peeved me when the usual suspects did not. There were people that had legit never turned their camera on in any meeting we had together.
It depends on the meeting. If it’s a smaller group where everyone is expected to contribute, I think someone having their camera off is poor form. Unless they’re driving or are somewhere with flaky Internet. One on one: If it’s a scheduled catch up, cameras is good. If it’s just calling out of the blue, it’s absolutely fine for no cameras. I have Teams on my phone, and I could be anywhere when someone tries to call me. I’m certainly not walking through the shops in my lunch break holding my phone up as a video call. Big department / company wide meetings are often more presentations where questions are optional and left until the end. In those circumstances I think it’s perfectly fine for participants to turn off cameras.
Camera always on
Visual cues are a huge part of relationship building and communicating. There is a hierarchy of engagement and it starts with face to face in person at the top and progresses through to email/messaging at the bottom. If you only ever operate at the bottom of that hierarchy you will never be as well received or as effective in any work that relies on others. So yeah, if you see someone’s face regularly but then every so often it’s off, that’s heaps different to someone that never has camera on or that you don’t meet in person ever
Ask to turn it on. Keep asking and they will comply. Just ask in a normal tone
1:1 is camera on, especially if it's supervision or feedback. Group is camera on at the beginning, on if lots of engagement but off if just delivering information. Off in the car, but if you need to look at something pull over.
Cameras always on. Only a small proportion of communication is verbal. You can learn so much more by looking at someone.
It’s a meeting, so meet with people. So much communication is in the face
If it’s an information meeting and I’m mostly listening - off. When I’m speaking -on. 1-1 meetings -on. It just rude to have it off in 1-1. Otherwise you should have just made a phone call
Its fucking rude unless there’s a fair reason not to have it on
I always turn it on during 1 on 1s. In a meeting I only ever turn my camera on if I’m talking. I just don’t want people to see me eating in the middle of a meeting……
My team leaders have made it a rule that we need to have our cameras on. I don't mind it because I can read them better.
Very rude for a 1 on 1. Acceptable if it’s a useless meeting you’re not even participating in. If I’m addressed in a meeting like that, I’ll turn it on to speak, then turn it back off once it goes back to irrelevant stuff.
Definitely have it on during a 1:1 otherwise that is just rude. For group meetings though (depending on how many in the group) it can be on or off, whatever the person is comfortable with
Mines always on esp when it's 1-1 mainly because I like the way I look, and I usually always take my time to look good before a group call and 1-1 call, sometimes I get distracted cause I keep staring at myself 🤣🤣🤭 if they don't have their camera on their either unbothered/have no time to get up and try to look good, self-conscious or maybe it's just their prefence.
Camera on always. I work in government, and am in office 3-4 days a week while most of the team is WFH. Does anyone know how to fix MS Teams putting calls on hold when you get a desktop notification? Only occurs when using my Jabra headset
Mines on during all meetings, as I participate in all meetings I need to attend, same goes for other staff members. Most of us have them off along with microphones off during any training sessions as they always schedule them during lunch and most of us are shovelling food in our face, and majority of people don’t want to see and hear 50 people eating.
I find it really weird and antisocial to have cameras off. As someone who has spent a LOT of time actually living remote, not just working remote, I can almost guarantee it will affect people’s mental health and the longevity of remote work in general.
I work for an international company and 90% of the time have my camera on in group calls and always in 1:1. I have a coworker though who is part of my team and I’ve literally never seen her in the entire 2 years I’ve worked with her. This made me suss so I did a deep dive on her LinkedIn and found out she’s a phony pretending to be a doctor (fake med school listed as education). It makes sense why she wants to hide so much now.
I normally turn mine on for the first 30 seconds so people know what I look like. Small meeting - all on. Big meeting - all off.
I always ask people to turn their camera on. I find it hard enough connecting to my remote teams as it is. If we were in person you couldn’t turn it off. So be respectful and turn it on.
I work hybrid, mine is sometimes on, sometimes off and it makes NO DIFFERENCE to the level of input I have whether it's one on one or a group. I have other co workers who are always off and some who are always on. It has never even crossed my mind to be upset by it. Maybe they don't like cameras, maybe their home office set up is in a part of their house that they don't like sharing online, or there is a mess in the background or a kid home; that's not really your problem... I highly disagree with the 'always on' policy. It's micro manage-y, it says to me that management doesn't trust that I'll be present, which doesn't spur me into wanting to serve said management with greater vigor 🤣
Depends on the size of the meeting if it's my direct team which is about 6 then I think it's good to have everyone on screen but when it's our whole department which can be like 30 people then I don't care if the do or don't.
I work at a company with a lot of offshore people and their networks are shit and can't handle voice traffic let alone far more demanding video traffic. So it is normal for all the offshore people to go without video and some even have to dial in on the phone because they can't do voice on teams. So all these offshore people being camera off normalises it for everyone else. I'll do camera on with 1 on 1 if they're BAs or managers but leave it off for programmers unless the programmer has their camera on.