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Having Your Camera Off in Meetings Could Cost You Your Job

A survey of executives reveals the presumptions they make about employees who don't show their faces in virtual meetings.

By Chandra Steele
April 20, 2022

Showing your face in a meeting is different now that those meetings are mostly via video-conferencing apps. You might want to conceal an unmade bed or not have to deal with making sure your hair is presentable; or maybe you just have Zoom fatigue, so you turn off the webcam. But according to a survey of 500 executives conducted for Vyopta by Wakefield Research, failing to appear on camera could mean losing your job. 

Ninety-two percent of the executives said that employees who are less engaged during virtual meetings, which they defined as frequently being muted or having their cameras off, probably don’t have a long-term future at their company. Ninety-three percent said they felt the lack of video-conference engagement was a sign that those employees are generally less engaged in their work overall. 

Two out of five of the executives (43%) made assumptions about what the off-camera employees were doing: namely, browsing the internet or social media (43%), texting or chatting (40%), doing other work (38%), playing games (35%), eating (35%), taking notes (29%), or wearing attire that wasn't camera-ready (24%). 

When asked why they think that employees aren't participating in video conferences, the top reason executives gave was that there are too many video meetings that could have been emails (48%). Other reasons they gave: It's a habit that has developed among junior staff (47%); because of a lack of preparation (41%); the employees don't feel comfortable speaking up (37%); or they have no clearly defined role on the call (34%). 

Despite their judgments, the executives admitted that the company itself is at fault for a lack of engagement. Forty-six percent said their companies are not providing the tools to allow remote workers to be as engaged as in-office ones. When asked, they felt that companies could do better by highlighting individual performance publicly through awards or promotions (49%), providing direct individual feedback (48%), investing in better tools that make collaboration more seamless (43%), company activities such as virtual happy hours and company outings (42%), training for managers on how best to engage with their remote team members (42%), further training and continuing education (40%), and identifying and fixing technological issues that hinder collaboration (37%). 

While 92% of executives said their company will invest in technical solutions to increase engagement, they’d probably do best by speaking directly to employees and asking them about their needs, challenges, and opinions.  

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About Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

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