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Like many of us on here I spend a lot of time on Google Hangouts/ Zoom etc now that we don't meet in the office much.
I've noticed that increasingly the younger members of the team seem to have their cameras off. Not sure why this winds me up but my sense is that they are not as 'present' as they should be. We only meet 3 times a week for 30mins each time and I know most of them do not spend that much time on other calls so I don't feel like it's too much to ask. Am I being unreasonable to 'mandate' cameras on?
No - totally reasonable.
Convert - aged 49, which might colour my judgement.
Not at all unreasonable but there are probably more sensitive ways of doing it. 'Expect' next least sensitive, up to 'how can I tell how you're doing if I can't see you?'. There's probably someone here who can come up with a better turn of phrase. Unless of course you're that guy who is organising 0730 calls.
EDIT: There are legit reasons for having camera off too, but these tend to be infrequent and exceptional IME.
1-1, direct reports, I think a 'camera on, but we can talk about it if there's a reason that makes you feel uncomfortable' rule is reasonable.
Small group team-type meeting, ditto.
Bigger groups, camera's off is fine, if nothing else it saves on internets and consequent flakey calls, esp. if your broadbands are rubbish (like mine).
Beware though - camera's off spreads like wildfire, IME. When we first went into lockdown/WFH, we were all cameras on. It only took a few not to be, before basically no-one was.
I don't set hard and fast rules for my team - even back in the olden days (like early 2020) we'd do some meetings via Skype from desktops and didn't have cameras, and a lot of the time these days someone is presenting so cameras make little difference.
We have the same issue and have a 'camera on' mandate, after all you wouldn't hide your face in a face to face meeting so what's the difference?
We have gone down the 'we need to see you for wellbeing ' route rather than 'need to see you have actually turned up for work today'
A bit of kick back but only from certain members of staff who just like kicking off for no reason
Depends on how many are in the meeting, how dull it is, and whether I need to be doing other things while "listening" to folks who love the sound of their voice too much.
I don't mind folks having the camera turned off, and then on when they want to say something
"Cameras on" is no guarantee that people are present in the meeting. If you look at people in a cameras on meeting you can see half of them are checking email, looking at their phone or whatever. It's easy to just drop another window over the meeting and you'll look like you're "present" but can actually do something productive instead.
My take is that if you have to mandate it, then there's probably a bigger issue going on. Do these team members actually need to be there? Are they contributing to the meeting? Are they encouraged to contribute?
Are there other signs they are not engaged in their jobs? If not then, you just have to trust they are doing the right thing, anything else starts to get a bit toxic.
I don't want other people seeing the reflection of what I'm watching on Netflix on the other screen off of my glasses yo
Am I being unreasonable to ‘mandate’ cameras on?
Yes. WTF difference does it make to anything?
you wouldn’t hide your face in a face to face meeting so what’s the difference?
You wouldn’t show your face on a phone call so what’s the difference?
Sounds like micromanagement?
If theyre doing their work as they should, inputting into meeting(s) when the need to etc, why do you need to see their faces on a screen? Sounds like you just want to see them chained to their desk/workroom.....
Personal choice for me and the team - i dont have my screen on, and im the manager.
I do Teams calls on my iPhone when i need to wherever i am, doesnt affect my productivity.
My take is that if you have to mandate it, then there’s probably a bigger issue going on.
Also, this. ☝
Why is this even a question, why do you care? Don't you trust your staff / colleagues? What do you do for the other seven hours when you're not in a meeting, sit there staring at status indicators on Teams in case one goes amber?
Maybe this is a NT vs ASD brain thing but I find it weird. I barely look at people when they're in the same room, the last thing I want is a screenful of people's webcammed faces chewing up my bandwidth.
My take is that if you have to mandate it, then there’s probably a bigger issue going on
Nah, not really.
If it's just 3x30mins per week then it's weird not to have cameras on.
It's important for team cohesion when WFH, IME.
Yes. WTF difference does it make to anything?
See above.
See above.
Seen.
Disagreed on both counts.
I sometimes miss working as part of teams with other people now I'm self employed. Then I read threads like this.
It’s important for team cohesion when WFH, IME.
Why are cameras important for that? It's important to work together as a team, to be able to discuss stuff, to collaborate and just to chat sh!t like you would in the office. You can do all of that without knowing what Jim's bookshelf looks like.
We do one team 'facetime' team session per week, and even then some people just join without going on camera. My team have been epic over the whole pandemic, I'm proud of what they've done and how they've worked together and with other parts of the organisation and I do not give a tinker's cuss whether they've had their cameras on or not.
ETA - I work for an organisation that supports the visually impaired. Relying on cameras and screens generally isn't the best idea when you're working with that community.
All cameras are disabled by IT as company policy in my old workplace.
We have a "cameras on" mandate for meetings and we're pretty strict on it for small meetings, larger ones less so.
I think the approach I'd take (and have taken) is asking them individually if there's a reason they've chosen not to have their camera on. That way if there are specific issues you can deal with them, my experience was that most didn't have a reason and did it as others did.
It’s important for team cohesion when WFH, IME.
I'd say it's important for team cohesion not to make up arbitrary rules that serve no purpose other than to satisfy some vague paranoia that your workmates might be scamming you somehow. 🤷♂️
Screens on for formal meetings , client calls (and even then in larger calls it'll be cameras on for introductions /how you doing etc before cams off )
Weekly updates /ops calls /internal calls..... Nah no Bueno.
It ain't onlyfans.
Depends totally, on the job that you do and the size of the meeting.
For large group presentations (won't call them meetings), camera off. Detracts from slides and content - same for the speaker to be honest - would rather just see the info on screen, not 20-30 faces.
Would be pretty odd for someone to have a camera off during a 121 though. Ours default to 'on' so why would you feel the need to turn it off for a 121 if the other person has theirs on?
For small team meetings / updates, again it's odd if you have half on and half off.
To be honest, IME, like it or not, there is a trend that those off camera are the ones who, after a long pause, will suddenly answer the question that was posed to them with a 'Can you say that again?'
That's just about two years of experience working OOO. Make of it what you will.
last thing I want is a screenful of people’s webcammed faces chewing up my bandwidth.
Exactly what Cougar says. Seeing people's faces adds nothing to 95% of meetings, other than a false sense of assurance for managers that they can see their charges, and a very real sense of distrust from staff who are having managers demand they put their cameras on.
I put mine on for meetings most of the time. I couldn't care less whether other people do - none of my staff are problematic enough that I feel I have to mandate cameras and force them to feel like I don't trust them. I don't think not seeing faces has any impact on team cohesion, but I do think a 'mandate' would have a negative effect on it.
Make it optional and prove you trust people.
Our network struggles with cameras on, so we don't use them
It's a loss in terms of team interaction, but at least the manager can't see the gestures we are making
It's not easy. My default position is probably similar to @IHN's, but I work with some folk that would rather stick pencils in their eyes than turn on their camera. If the work is getting done, why does it matter?
I've just started a new contract where I am not subject to the tyranny of a daily standup. It's quite nice actually 🙂
If you need to see their face to check if they're doing their job, you're not a very good manager.
However, if they are in an office - camera on.
If they're at home where I could be a shared space and other people walking around - their choice to have camera on or off.
I always have my camera on. I'm often muted and not in frame though, as I walk about, or make a coffee, with my wireless headphones on while listening in. Is that worse than not having the camera on for everyone else...? Maybe.
We mandate them as on if it's the teams equivalent of the Friday afternoon meeting in the pub of yore.
Otherwise off.
I've had one client insist I turn mine on - they got a nice picture of my shins as my laptop lives in a dock under my desk when I'm wfh.
my experience was that most didn’t have a reason and did it as others did.
This is a big part of it. In the bit of the organisation I work for, most people don't put cameras on because most people don't put cameras on. In my wife's bit of the organisation she works for, most people have cameras on because most people have cameras on.
I'm a no. The only people who make a point of putting their cameras on are directors and above - the same people who were making a point of getting us back to office and complaining about the difficulty of working with remote teams when those of us who've had remote teams for 20 years just got on with it.
If you think they aren't engaged, just call on them in the meeting.
That said, if you're just talking at them, don't expect them to be fully engaged. They've got work to do...
Like many of us on here I spend a lot of time on Google Hangouts/ Zoom etc now that we don’t meet in the office much.
I’ve noticed that increasingly the younger members of the team seem to have their cameras off. Not sure why this winds me up but my sense is that they are not as ‘present’ as they should be. We only meet 3 times a week for 30mins each time and I know most of them do not spend that much time on other calls so I don’t feel like it’s too much to ask. Am I being unreasonable to ‘mandate’ cameras on?
Completely unreasonable, how am I supposed to make the beach in the Seychelles look like my spare room?!
You'll be expecting me to wear clothes next ffs..
I find them nothing but a distraction unless it's a 1-1.
No idea why you'd actually want them turned on. What does it achieve?
Most of the time I find meetings are focussed on a jira board or some kind of presentation anyway.
There is no one size fits all solution here. It's very dependent on your role and the industry you're in.
If they are contributing to the call/meeting it doesn't really matter.
We don't have a mandate, but I'm old enough to decide when I need mine on (or off).
Thanks all. Seems like people don't think it's unreasonable to request but that it's a bit micro managey. That's fine. I am micro managing at the mo. I inherited the team and don't think they are quite cutting it from a productivity perspective - which they know.
Of course, I do understand people can have camera on and still not engage. Which is why I will also ask them to put their hands on their heads throughout the meeting 😉
dmorts nailed this a while back, end of thread!
@ibnchris - for each person on the naughty list, set up a 1-2-1 video call with them and challenge them to a game of scissors, paper, stone. The winner chooses camera on or off.... and none of that best of 3 malarkey.
Big meetings where I'm just listening then I won't have my camera on but smaller team meetings then I do feel it seems a bit rude to have your camera off. It's nicer to look at people when you're talking to them even if they are on a screen. You can use a background to hide behind you if you're worried about people seeing your house etc.
Depends on how many are in the meeting, how dull it is, and whether I need to be doing other things while “listening” to folks who love the sound of their voice too much.
This for me. A meeting with 50 attendees where I am not going to be talking, camera off. A team meeting with 6 people, camera on.
Manager to 30 odd here - baffled as to why screens on matters. There are better ways of making sure people are engaged in a meeting if that’s what you’re worried about?
Sometimes I have my camera on to show I’m listening and to make sure people see my expressions, especially if I’m leading the meeting. Sometimes I don’t, maybe:
- my cat/child is messing around behind me
- I don’t want a client or whatever to judge me based on my hair and bookcase organisation
- I just want to listen and check my emails at the same time
- I’m sick of staring at my screen
- I’m eating
- I don’t feel like it
Much like we wouldn’t stop people going on STW during the day because the assumption is that they are mostly getting on with their work, it’s far more effective <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">to trust that people want to do a good job until there’s some actual evidence that they aren’t.</span>
Why don’t you ask people in their 1:1s what they think rather than us randomers?
Also, and maybe I’m off here but calling out “the younger members” definitely sounds like you already have an issue with a specific set of your team members.
Expectation of my team is that anything longer than 30 mins is camera on, anything less is by choice but should be cameras on unless you're traveling, in an airport etc.
If your only regular contact with them is those regular 30 mins meetings then I'd politely ask them to be present, via camera.
All of this was agreed as part of our personal contracting when I established the team, as was being able to call people out when it's very apparent they're reading emails, looking at phones etc etc while meant to be participating in a meeting. They now find it decent sport to call each other out which saves me the hassle. We also set a standard that we'd be on the call on time, every time. Why on earth do folk think it's OK to rock up unprepared and late just because it's a google meet or teams, or whatever solution you use.
All of this was agreed as part of our personal contracting when I established the team, as was being able to call people out when it’s very apparent they’re reading emails, looking at phones etc etc while meant to be participating in a meeting.
I quit.
Camera always off for me, otherwise people can tell I’m working on 3 other tasks while in the call
If my manager put in place a camera mandate that would be great, provided she’s happy with me not doing any actual work and just looking good in calls