The Perils of Zoom

[HarryTheDog]

My home office is in the spare bedroom and so are our bathroom scales. I was on a call to one of my workmates, who just also happens to be my best mate and has been out socially with me and my missus. My missus walked in stark naked to weigh herself.
He just says "nice tits".
My missus was only slightly embarrassed and saw the funny side and seemed to appreciate the compliment as well.

 

[T4tomo]

We had a chap take a pee in a 5 minute break in a zoom call, he hadn't muted his bluetooth mic!

My cats whiskers kept looming into view as he strolled behind my laptop, itching his chin on the top of it, as I was talking before he finally fully revealed himself to the rest of the call.

 

[Julia9054]

“Lewis . . . Lewis? Are you there? Please unmute yourself and answer the question on the screen”
Via the chat
“Miss, my wifi is haunted and I can’t unmute myself!”

 

[srw]

Why do so few people think to sit around the edge of the room with their back to the wall,

Most people, in my observation, are extremely limited as to where they can sit. Most houses weren't built to be used as offices, and desks - or kitchen tables or ironing boards - have to be squeezed in wherever they go.

In any case, best ergonomic advice is to give yourself plenty of room to move. Which rather rules out sitting against a wall unless you've got palatial rooms.

 

[Bazzer]

No bloopers as yet on our team Team calls, but access to technology arising from home working has been a salutary lesson for some not in our team.
Numerous "work chat" groups have been set up, to which you are simply added not invited. Some of comments made in them and broadcast for all the group to see just amaze me.
A couple of months back, a person in one the groups decided to set up a group Teams chat. Not a problem. It seems she also wanted to check she knew how to do it by making a test appointment for about 10 minutes time. Again not a problem. However, for her test she chose one of the most populated work chat groups, of some several hundred people.
It was obvious, at least to me, that somewhere in the setting up process a wrong button had been pressed, but the explosion of emails and chat comments was staggering. At which point I decided to remove notifications from pretty much every chat group.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Just switch off the camera, I don't like looking in a mirror so why should I inflict my face on anyone else

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I'm not a Zoom user (MS Teams and Cisco Webex) so maybe a Zoom user can help, but surely before you join you're automatically given the preview of what people will see before you hit the "join" button? Plenty of scope I'd have thought to at least check that your lighting is okay, that your face is in shot, that your bra isn't hanging up behind you, that you're not a cat.

Nothing too embarrassing has happened to me, if anything I'm usually the person who's on mute and has to be shouted at. Although one colleague said I looked "too serious" once, I was actually working on something else entirely while they were all rabbiting on, and I had Webex minimised. I didn't therefore have my "being with other people" smiley face on, and I apparently appeared to be silently staring at everyone in an "I'm going to kill you all while you sleep" way.

 

[mjr]

In any case, best ergonomic advice is to give yourself plenty of room to move. Which rather rules out sitting against a wall unless you've got palatial rooms.

Good workspaces make awful video call locations, sure. If you're using a laptop without an extension keyboard or screen, the camera is too low and looking up your nose — but do people have to make calls from their workspace? I often move to the side of the dining table with the wall closest behind and put the laptop or tablet on a stack of books to level the camera at eye level. It's also good for reducing distractions while on the call.

I'm not a Zoom user (MS Teams and Cisco Webex) so maybe a Zoom user can help, but surely before you join you're automatically given the preview of what people will see before you hit the "join" button? Plenty of scope I'd have thought to at least check that your lighting is okay, that your face is in shot, that your bra isn't hanging up behind you, that you're not a cat.

It depends on the system but some of them don't give much time before you join, especially if it is passcode-entry or the host is fast in approving entrances. I think Zoom is one where you only get the time until the host OKs you, but it often crashes on join for me anyway, leaving a silent pictureless zombie connected for a few minutes.

 

[srw]

do people have to make calls from their workspace

Unless you're lucky enough to have a spare room no-one else is using, and the luxury of plenty of time between calls, yes.

For many of us, working from home is working on video and audio calls. If a large part of your job is talking to other people (most managers, many sales people, all customer service people) then you can't move every time you need to do it. I'm lucky - I have a door I can shut and a spare room to set up a desk in. Many of my colleagues don't - they have families who also need to work, or are sharing houses. One of my senior colleagues works from his kitchen, another from a spare bedroom in front of the bed, another from her son's bedroom. Several of my colleagues live in shared houses with no communal space other than the kitchen.

 

[mjr]

For many of us, working from home is working on video and audio calls.

Sneaking "audio calls" in there changes the scale massively. Even me, working on websites and internet services, I do far more audio calls than video, even now. Text messaging services dwarf both, of course.

Edited to add: Audio and text are fine done from workspaces. It's video calls where the lighting, camera position and backdrop matter. A smartphone in a pound shop tripod in a good location will often beat a workspace laptop easily.

I was going to ask if you think the limited space is their choice or due to your employer not paying enough for them to afford more space... but maybe more diplomatically, do you know any general stats on how much room at home the 20% (IIRC) of the workforce newly teleworking have?

 

[fossyant]

Many of my colleagues don't - they have families who also need to work, or are sharing houses. One of my senior colleagues works from his kitchen, another from a spare bedroom in front of the bed, another from her son's bedroom. Several of my colleagues live in shared houses with no communal space other than the kitchen.

This. I've got colleagues still working from their bedrooms/beds even now. On a call now, two senior managers are working from the kitchen, two from the dining room and one from their lounge. There is two that have office space/spare room, and me in the shedoffice.

The marketing team who I share an office with, most of them are in their early 20's and are living in 1 bed flats - they don't have a desk. I know one person who is usually on the settee on video calls. There is a big mix. You are lucky if you've got space.

 

[rockyroller]

Wifey is a Teacher, & she witnessed something in a home she had to report

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Good workspaces make awful video call locations, sure. If you're using a laptop without an extension keyboard or screen, the camera is too low and looking up your nose — but do people have to make calls from their workspace? I often move to the side of the dining table with the wall closest behind and put the laptop or tablet on a stack of books to level the camera at eye level. It's also good for reducing distractions while on the call.

Yes, I have a stack of books that goes onto my desk just before a web chat, and the laptop goes on that. It's only a minor faff, and I'd rather that than look like I'm bearing down on the viewer like some breathy, creepy sex man. Not a good look.

It depends on the system but some of them don't give much time before you join, especially if it is passcode-entry or the host is fast in approving entrances. I think Zoom is one where you only get the time until the host OKs you, but it often crashes on join for me anyway, leaving a silent pictureless zombie connected for a few minutes.

Ah, thanks! Both Teams and Webex allow you to sort yourself out before everyone sees you, even if the host has let you in. They see a black screen with your name until you put your camera live. Same with the mic, you can join muted.

 

[srw]

Sneaking "audio calls" in there changes the scale massively.

Not hugely. If you are working on an audio call and dealing with a member of the public you can't be in the same location as someone else. If you're sharing a space with someone else you can't easily both be on the phone at the same time.

A smartphone in a pound shop tripod in a good location will often beat a workspace laptop easily.

Corporate security settings, if they're any cop, make this challenging.

I was going to ask if you think the limited space is their choice or due to your employer not paying enough for them to afford more space... but maybe more diplomatically, do you know any general stats on how much room at home the 20% (IIRC) of the workforce newly teleworking have?

The organisation targets market rates for pay, but is based in outer London - so the typical space at home, especially for lower-paid staff, is small. Over 6% of households in London are made up of two or more unrelated people (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...de-up-of-two-or-more-unrelated-adults-in-2019). The specific examples I quoted above were for senior management - members of the executive committee and so among the highest paid in the organisation.

It's common for a family to live in a house where the number of bedrooms is one fewer than the number of people. So if everyone is working or schooling from home at least one person needs to work from a living room of some kind - assuming all the bedrooms are available for working, which isn't always the case.

On the number of people working remotely rather than from the office, it varies depending on industry (with one obvious exception) between about 15% and nearly 90%.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindu...nsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/11february2021

 

[mjr]

Wifey is a Teacher, & she witnessed something in a home she had to report

This really would have been better not followed immediately by

[...] I'd rather that than look like I'm bearing down on the viewer like some breathy, creepy sex man.