Zoom recommends that everyone turn on their camera, especially during business meetings, because it is ‘useful.’
Zoom’s popularity has grown since the epidemic pushed schools and businesses to switch to virtual meetings.
However, not everyone like having their camera turned on during Zoom meetings.
A research published earlier this year found that ‘Zoom fatigue’ arises when most individuals switch on their cameras.
Despite its counterintuitive nature, researchers at the University of Arizona Eller College of Management discovered in a recent experiment that turning off your camera can result in more productive meetings.
The removal of video, according to the study’s authors, allowed attendees to cease paying attention to their own faces and instead focus on meeting content.
Zoom users have decided not to open their cameras since then in order to prevent feeling Zoom fatigue.
Zoom recommends that you turn on your camera
Zoom, on the other hand, disagrees. Their response addressed the topic, “Will turning on your camera during business meetings be beneficial?”
Zoom agrees at this point.
The videoconferencing behemoth recently polled US employees and discovered that keeping the camera on during Zoom meetings benefits not only people but also teams and businesses as a whole.
According to Zoom’s investigation of the effects of keeping the camera on, 84 percent of managers felt more confident in their hiring decisions if the candidate kept the camera on during the interview.
According to the report, when cameras were turned on, workers felt more linked to the duties they were allocated; they could work more extensively, and their managers felt that their direct reports were more engaged.
Furthermore, not only do individual employees benefit, but the entire team does as well, including perhaps the most evident improvement-better teamwork and collaboration.
Approximately seven out of ten (79 percent) of those polled believe that while the video is on, their colleagues pay more attention, and three out of four believe that the quality of their interactions increases.
Then, more over half (59%) are optimistic that their team-building initiatives were successful, ensuring that teams are always on better terms to work every day.
Should a ‘Camera on’ mandate be enacted?
According to Zoom’s research, businesses can gain from video conferencing as well. It builds trust with current and new customers, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
Furthermore, more than two-thirds (61%) of professionals think turning on their camera helps them function better, even in a remote scenario with multiple distractions.
Despite the fact that almost all respondents believed that video calls have significant advantages, only a small minority thought they should be made mandatory. Zoom appears to agree, since the research concludes that “not every encounter should be video.”
“Initially, it was lovely to see everyone’s faces,” Natalie Ackerman, EVP talent and inclusiveness at brand experience firm Jack Morton Worldwide, said in a statement. “But we learned that working remotely and dealing with the stress of Covid-19 was hard enough.”
Finally, regardless of whether participants have their cameras turned on or off, the meeting host and facilitator are responsible for ensuring that everyone is included throughout a video meeting.