You know what? I hate when I catch myself doing that. I don't feel I'm being phony or forced in calls, but sometimes I switch the camera off and I feel my face drop and I feel kinda guilty.
Don’t feel guilty. It is the normalization of expected behavior at a workplace that forces you to behave in a way that you do not want to.
It is their fault for fostering a space where people are not allowed to present as unhappy, tired, stressed out, or otherwise below neutral, even if said state doesn’t impact the quality of your work or communication.
We build relationships all around us where we are willing to understand that just because someone is not-happy does not mean that they don’t want to speak to you in good faith. We also typically understand that not everybody who seems gleeful has good intentions.
We had a company wide email about how they want everyone to turn on their cameras for calls. My camera mysteriously “broke” the same day. If they send me a new one, maybe I’ll turn it on. (They won’t)
I have to use cameras just out of politeness and I also do a bunch of audio only calls and frankly the video calls are much more stressful and often less productive.
I’ll use the camera during the small meetings with my immediate team but the company wide calls? Naw, I’m usually walking to the coffee shop or laying on the couch during those
See, for me it's often the other way around. Wtih the usual suspects we're often just in each other's ears for a while and moving around to get a coffee or even just pacing up and down to stretch our legs. It's the outside-facing stuff that requires the face time.
That depends on your business, I suppose. Either way the audio only stuff is definitely the better choice IMO.
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