Morning Walk #5
Why turning cameras off on Zoom calls is better for your team and other personal news.
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In this issue
Turning your camera off is okay; even science says so.
Some other personal news.
Some interesting things I read/watched/listened to lately.
Turning your camera off is okay; even science says so
Back in March 2020, on the first day of lockdown, when we had our first standup with the team fully remote, I asked everyone to turn their cameras on. I knew we’d lose some team dynamics, serendipity, and a sense of connection when switching to remote. I thought that seeing a real face in front of you instead of a profile pic or a placeholder image would humanize the room. We even had a company-wide announcement asking people to turn their videos on during Zoom calls.
And it did help at first. It felt better. We were more engaged, discussing more openly, brainstorming here and there. At some point, those who turned off their cameras felt as outsiders not willing to engage with the rest of the team.
But time went on, and Zoom calls became a regular part of our everyday life. Now I think differently. Now I think it’s fine to turn off your camera. Even more, I want to turn off my camera more often. And it turns out the science says cameras off helps to prevent burnout and promote attention.
I started noticing this a few months ago when I was in a Zoom meeting full of people with all of their cameras off. “What an arrogance,” I thought at first. But then I turned my camera off as well, and it felt good. I started walking freely around my room in my AirPods and found myself listening more closely to the whole discussion. I wasn’t thinking of how I look on camera and whether they can see my messed-up bed behind me or that I might be biting my lips when I’m listening attentively. Those back in the head thoughts just disappeared, giving me room to focus on what’s important. I felt more engaged in the conversation.
It turns out I wasn’t alone in this feeling. Earlier this year, a group of scientists published results of research called “The Fatiguing Effects of Camera Use in Virtual Meetings.” The paper includes the results of 1,408 daily observations from 103 employees.
Their idea was to find out whether or not turning your camera on during video calls increased people’s Zoom fatigue, a term that entered our lives during the pandemic.
Zoom fatigue – a feeling of being drained and lacking energy following a day of virtual meetings.
Here are some of their key findings:
Using the camera is fatiguing.
Fatigue by itself is problematic for employee voice and engagement in meetings.
The fatigue effect is not attributable to time spent in or number of virtual meetings.
Being watched enhances the need to manage impressions and directs focus inward, inducing fatigue.
The use of video does pose an additional burden on people, and I’m differently changing my opinion on this one and won’t encourage my teams to turn their videos on all the time. Although we shouldn’t over-extrapolate the findings of this paper and there is some balance to be found.
It feels like we haven’t examined our remote work practices since the pandemic started. It was essential to use video at the beginning, but now it’s vital to implement optional camera policies and let people know it’s okay to turn them off. We should do the same with every longstanding practice once in a while and revisit it from the first principles.
In personal other news
Three weeks ago, I hired a personal assistant to delegate some errands and routine tasks (both work-related and non-work-related). It’s been great so far and one of the best investments this year. It’s interesting to observe how difficult it is to open up to someone new for me. I need to share some private bits of my life for this to work, and I was very reluctant to do that. Glad I have an opportunity to fight this.
Things I've been reading/watching/enjoying
What is underneath productivity?
You know these people obsessed with todo lists, planning, organizing stuff, and optimizing systems for productivity? You probably know some of them. I am one of these people, as well as the author of this piece. He makes a fascinating realization that making those todo lists is an end to him instead of completing them. And he accepts it and starts living accordingly.
I have a kind of obsession with todo lists. I like to have everything written down because I want to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. But why? I realized that for me, the mere feeling of being on top of things is an end.
Drew Simms YouTube Channel
Drew Simms graduated from college three years ago and decided to travel across the US, living out of his Jeep Wrangler in pursuit of becoming a professional travel photographer.
He captures his travels and camping in different remote places throughout changing seasons. His Jeep equipmentis phenomenal, including a work desk, kitchen table, rooftop tent, and many more. Just look at his winter camp set up:
Camouflage Against the Machines
Japanese company created clothing that makes you invisible (for now) to AI. When I first read the premise, I thought it’s a great idea, but the clothing probably looks weird. It turns out it’s just a specific print on a regular black t-shirt, and you can use that print anywhere. And the t-shirt itself looks pretty cool, so it’s a double win!
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Until next week 👋🏻