Virtual virtues
For many of us, remote video meetings have become as much a part of the working week as the bleary-eyed morning commute or vague, succinct small talk about the weekend. But, we’re not yet all on exactly the same page about what is — and what certainly is not — acceptable call conduct.
According to a newly published YouGov survey conducted late last summer, for example, 74% of Americans think cracking open a cold one while on a call from home is unacceptable under any circumstances, while 16% think it’s okay in an informal meeting, and a particularly thirsty 3% contingent think it’s fine in any meeting context. Smoking and vaping were impermissible to even more American adults, while having the TV on in the background was deemed the most egregious breach of etiquette by the highest share of respondents at 77%.
Given the amount of time we spend hosting and attending work meetings has soared some 252% since 2020 to as much as 7.5 hours a week, per Microsoft analysis of customers who use its work products, wider conversations around video call conduct — and just how comfortable we should get when dialing in from home — won’t be going away anytime soon.
