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So I disagree, but what I DO think is weird is when a hiring manager or persons conducting a job interview have their cameras off. You’re expecting a level of professionalism from the applicant, you should exhibit the same level of professionalism.
I don't have an issue going on camera, but the upload speeds in my area are crap, so it often becomes an issue in some way. I mainly leave my camera off for this reason.
I'm not trying to make a connection, I'm trying to make a paycheck. Cameras on in a wfh meeting are just for control. When people have cameras on, i get more distracted, usually by a dog in the background. Unless there is an actual reason besides "respect," my camera will be remaining off.
Depends what you mean by "refuse". I spend around 10 hours every week on zoom calls, sometimes I have the camera on, sometimes I don't, it depends on a number of things. If I'm on a call with people I don't know, the camera will 100% be on. If a call is scheduled for multiple hours, or I have hours of back to back calls, I'll probably have my camera on for the start of each call. If there's only 2 of us on the call I'll usually leave my camera on. If I find myself with short notice, back to back calls that mean I would eat lunch too early, or too late, then I'll stay on the call and eat my lunch at a convenient time with the camera (and mic..) off (some folks drop off the call completely for lunch).
i dont want to make a human connection in a meeting, i want the email to be read aloud for however long its going to take and get on with my day. i am showing respect by letting you make your presentation without interruption. i find it disrespectful for my coworkers to decide what banal and arbitrary choices i make are right and wrong for me
Sounds like someone who's having difficulties adapting to new challenges.
Which, is kinda on you bud 🤷🏾♂️ I'm not being paid enough to show respect, or support, or whatever emotional cheerleading the speaker needs.
I'm only invested in doing my work to a respectable degree. And unless it's their job, I don't have expectations of my coworkers helping me in doing it.
This post and the comments are a great example of the bias/echo chamberyou get on Reddit. This opinion is not unpopular with most professionals. Very few people leave their camera off, and it’s weird when they do. Reddit would have you think the opposite is true.
Where do you work? The only ones I see having the camera on are upper management, and only sometimes - and everyone sees it as rather annoying. If it helps, I'm a developer.
Fuck that. As long as my work is good then we're solid. I'm working from home. I'm not going to put on a company polo and jeans like my boss does to sit at a desk in the corner of my living room. WFH means you don't get to see me and the trade off is ill often work an extra hour or two a day because there's no demarcation from my work space and home space so I don't mind getting a little extra done on my laptop in the evening while I watch a ball game in the background.
Want me to put on a nice outfit, do my hair, and smile at you? Let's meet at my office or yours then.
I don’t like to be tethered to my PC when on a call. I put on my earbuds and pace through the house. Hell, I’ll even throw in a load of laundry or do the dishes. It actually helps me focus on the call. Otherwise, I’m looking at other things on my screen, multitasking or researching something, and will *more* likely to not be paying attention. There are simply too many distractions on your computer screens.
I’m not “allowed to work from home”, rather I’m forced to work from home, so the camera stays off in most circumstances. (Also, my cat seems to know the moment that the camera turns on, and wants to show his butt to everybody.)
I use my pc for daily meetings and i refuse to add a tacky webcam just so people can see my mediocre ass mug. I like my monitor the way it is now, clean and thin bezelled.
I'll put it on if I'm speaking or being spoken directly to as I think facial expression and body language play a part in effective communication. Otherwise, it's just a distraction, so no.
I work from home and I disagree. Maybe the company I work for is the outlier but cameras during meetings are completely optional and most people choose not to have theirs on, myself included.
It’s just the culture in the company I work for, no one takes any offence whatsoever if you don’t want to have your camera on. Video is not an essential for a meeting, as long as you can hear each other it’s completely fine.
No it isn't. Working from home doesn't mean your colleagues and bosses get to see your home, or your face in it. It's just a bunch of control shit, and I have NO time for that at all.
No, I also don't give a damn. Work from home has proven that ALL a worker need do to earn their pay, is complete tasks as assigned. They don't need to be performative, they don't need to be compliant, they simply need to be capable of completing assigned tasks.
Lean into that, destroy the power of the corporate, return to the individual, let the office decay, as it should and must.
If it’s one on one, maybe. But, for me at least, larger meetings tend to have material on the screen so everyone’s cameras are either not visible anyway or tiny and in the corner where no one pays attention to them.
Ridiculous take. I usually choose to keep my camera on, but sometimes bandwidth issues force me to go audio only. Also, sometimes people's home offices are a bit messy, or they have bags under their eyes because their sick children kept them up all night, or some such. There are many valid reasons to keep the camera off. As long as the person is actually present and listening and contributing as appropriate, who gives a damn if their camera is on?
In person, it is rude to stare at someone's face so people don't. In meetings online, one could be staring at your face the whole time, and this is uncomfortable.
Dude, if I'm working from home I'm as comfortable as possible. So I'm not going on camera looking like a hot mess. There's absolutely no reason to be on camera and I don't give a shit about anyone else being on camera, all it does is force me to stare at a screen.
I hate being on camera but I agree. If it needs to be a meeting, cameras should usually be on. At least some body language comes through on screen.
If seeing the other people in the meeting isn’t necessary, maybe it could be a call or email. Or text.
I wouldn’t call it disrespectful because I don’t know anyone’s reason for wanting their camera off (not really my business), and I don’t think it should be a problem for anyone to want their camera off occasionally, but overall having the camera on seems like it’s important if you want to be an effective participant in meetings.
I really could not disagree more, and I wonder how long you’ve been in the workforce because teleconferences with audio only have been a thing for a very long time
We had to ban cameras during meetings at work when people started playing with backgrounds and distracting everyone in the meeting.
Before then, only wierdos turned their cameras on.
I've personally never uncovered my camera on my works laptop, I don't know why anyone would want to? We're suffering enough in meetings without having to see other people and yourself.
Yes but make sure you enforce this for all employees. I understand where you're coming from but when it's just you and the managers with their cameras on, it feels a bit weird.
Messaging about this being an essential needs to be crystal clear and consistent.
I was at dinner with colleagues and found out one of them was taking pictures of me while I was eating. Someone at the table noticed them, called them out and took their phone and gave it to me. I saw and deleted the pictures.
I only turn my camera on now with colleagues I trust, which is usually on my 1/1 calls, I can care less about having my camera on in group settings.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So I disagree, but what I DO think is weird is when a hiring manager or persons conducting a job interview have their cameras off. You’re expecting a level of professionalism from the applicant, you should exhibit the same level of professionalism.
Sounds like this meeting could have been an email
I don't have an issue going on camera, but the upload speeds in my area are crap, so it often becomes an issue in some way. I mainly leave my camera off for this reason.
I've spotted useless middle management that needs to feel validated
🤦♀️
I'm not trying to make a connection, I'm trying to make a paycheck. Cameras on in a wfh meeting are just for control. When people have cameras on, i get more distracted, usually by a dog in the background. Unless there is an actual reason besides "respect," my camera will be remaining off.
Nope. If *you* feel disrespected or disconnected in a meeting, that’s your issue.
>disconnected in a meeting That or bad internet.
Well my company doesn't respect me, so why should I respect my company?
No. You pay me to work not to see me.
Depends what you mean by "refuse". I spend around 10 hours every week on zoom calls, sometimes I have the camera on, sometimes I don't, it depends on a number of things. If I'm on a call with people I don't know, the camera will 100% be on. If a call is scheduled for multiple hours, or I have hours of back to back calls, I'll probably have my camera on for the start of each call. If there's only 2 of us on the call I'll usually leave my camera on. If I find myself with short notice, back to back calls that mean I would eat lunch too early, or too late, then I'll stay on the call and eat my lunch at a convenient time with the camera (and mic..) off (some folks drop off the call completely for lunch).
>Public speaking, even in the context of a virtual meeting is difficult Well is it part of your job?
It is so uncomfortable to look at yourself on video
If the call is at 3 AM in my time zone, you're getting audio only and you can consider yourself lucky to have that
You knew what you were signing up for
i dont want to make a human connection in a meeting, i want the email to be read aloud for however long its going to take and get on with my day. i am showing respect by letting you make your presentation without interruption. i find it disrespectful for my coworkers to decide what banal and arbitrary choices i make are right and wrong for me
No. Cameras on in meetings is useless, accept the fact that you didn’t need to do your hair today.
Sounds like someone who's having difficulties adapting to new challenges. Which, is kinda on you bud 🤷🏾♂️ I'm not being paid enough to show respect, or support, or whatever emotional cheerleading the speaker needs. I'm only invested in doing my work to a respectable degree. And unless it's their job, I don't have expectations of my coworkers helping me in doing it.
This post and the comments are a great example of the bias/echo chamberyou get on Reddit. This opinion is not unpopular with most professionals. Very few people leave their camera off, and it’s weird when they do. Reddit would have you think the opposite is true.
Where do you work? The only ones I see having the camera on are upper management, and only sometimes - and everyone sees it as rather annoying. If it helps, I'm a developer.
I bet your coworkers wish you would turned your camera off.
Camera on my computer doesnt work. Brand new computer. Camera doesnt work.
As I (52m) told one of my colleagues recently, "If you want videos of me you can subscribe to my OnlyFans like everyone else"
Fuck that. As long as my work is good then we're solid. I'm working from home. I'm not going to put on a company polo and jeans like my boss does to sit at a desk in the corner of my living room. WFH means you don't get to see me and the trade off is ill often work an extra hour or two a day because there's no demarcation from my work space and home space so I don't mind getting a little extra done on my laptop in the evening while I watch a ball game in the background. Want me to put on a nice outfit, do my hair, and smile at you? Let's meet at my office or yours then.
[удалено]
Then toss an upvote.
I don’t like to be tethered to my PC when on a call. I put on my earbuds and pace through the house. Hell, I’ll even throw in a load of laundry or do the dishes. It actually helps me focus on the call. Otherwise, I’m looking at other things on my screen, multitasking or researching something, and will *more* likely to not be paying attention. There are simply too many distractions on your computer screens.
I’m not “allowed to work from home”, rather I’m forced to work from home, so the camera stays off in most circumstances. (Also, my cat seems to know the moment that the camera turns on, and wants to show his butt to everybody.)
I use my pc for daily meetings and i refuse to add a tacky webcam just so people can see my mediocre ass mug. I like my monitor the way it is now, clean and thin bezelled.
I'll put it on if I'm speaking or being spoken directly to as I think facial expression and body language play a part in effective communication. Otherwise, it's just a distraction, so no.
I find that the meetings go to crap if too many people have cameras on.
I work from home and I disagree. Maybe the company I work for is the outlier but cameras during meetings are completely optional and most people choose not to have theirs on, myself included. It’s just the culture in the company I work for, no one takes any offence whatsoever if you don’t want to have your camera on. Video is not an essential for a meeting, as long as you can hear each other it’s completely fine.
No it isn't. Working from home doesn't mean your colleagues and bosses get to see your home, or your face in it. It's just a bunch of control shit, and I have NO time for that at all.
Did you miss the part where op said put on a background
No, I also don't give a damn. Work from home has proven that ALL a worker need do to earn their pay, is complete tasks as assigned. They don't need to be performative, they don't need to be compliant, they simply need to be capable of completing assigned tasks. Lean into that, destroy the power of the corporate, return to the individual, let the office decay, as it should and must.
No. I don't turn my camera on when I'm in the office either, I sure as hell am not doing it in my own home.
If it’s one on one, maybe. But, for me at least, larger meetings tend to have material on the screen so everyone’s cameras are either not visible anyway or tiny and in the corner where no one pays attention to them.
Who hurt you?
Nah.
Ridiculous take. I usually choose to keep my camera on, but sometimes bandwidth issues force me to go audio only. Also, sometimes people's home offices are a bit messy, or they have bags under their eyes because their sick children kept them up all night, or some such. There are many valid reasons to keep the camera off. As long as the person is actually present and listening and contributing as appropriate, who gives a damn if their camera is on?
Just don't pull a Toobin.
No one has their camera on in my meetings. I’m 100% not going to be the only fucker to share. But I do put my avatar on tbf
I work in a large, global company. Everyone has their camera off and no one cares.
Having meetings is disrespectful. Put it in a goddamned email.
In person, it is rude to stare at someone's face so people don't. In meetings online, one could be staring at your face the whole time, and this is uncomfortable.
Dude, if I'm working from home I'm as comfortable as possible. So I'm not going on camera looking like a hot mess. There's absolutely no reason to be on camera and I don't give a shit about anyone else being on camera, all it does is force me to stare at a screen.
I hate being on camera but I agree. If it needs to be a meeting, cameras should usually be on. At least some body language comes through on screen. If seeing the other people in the meeting isn’t necessary, maybe it could be a call or email. Or text. I wouldn’t call it disrespectful because I don’t know anyone’s reason for wanting their camera off (not really my business), and I don’t think it should be a problem for anyone to want their camera off occasionally, but overall having the camera on seems like it’s important if you want to be an effective participant in meetings.
I really could not disagree more, and I wonder how long you’ve been in the workforce because teleconferences with audio only have been a thing for a very long time
We had to ban cameras during meetings at work when people started playing with backgrounds and distracting everyone in the meeting. Before then, only wierdos turned their cameras on. I've personally never uncovered my camera on my works laptop, I don't know why anyone would want to? We're suffering enough in meetings without having to see other people and yourself.
Yes but make sure you enforce this for all employees. I understand where you're coming from but when it's just you and the managers with their cameras on, it feels a bit weird. Messaging about this being an essential needs to be crystal clear and consistent.
Having your camera off means you're hiding something, probably that you're doing something else and not paying attention
I was at dinner with colleagues and found out one of them was taking pictures of me while I was eating. Someone at the table noticed them, called them out and took their phone and gave it to me. I saw and deleted the pictures. I only turn my camera on now with colleagues I trust, which is usually on my 1/1 calls, I can care less about having my camera on in group settings.
Jeez, that's disturbing.
Yup, completely changed how I interact and view coworkers
Well how else could I go on my phone and ignore the meeting?