'It's the closest to what we know: if you're a manager, you're used to the old way of work, which was you can kind of roam the halls' to see if people are at their desks working, explains Gabriel.īut, as workers well know, leaving cameras on for everything can take a toll and exacerbate Zoom fatigue: a tiredness linked to factors like fixating on your own on-camera appearance and the cognitive strain of trying to pick up on non-verbal cues that are much easier to interpret in person. There’s also an element of micro-management: bosses who ask workers to switch webcams on are shifting controlling office behaviours to the virtual world. One 2022 survey showed 92% of executives believe people who turn their cameras off don't have a long-term future at the company. Research shows workers have read their employers right data shows bosses fear staff whose cameras are off may be slacking. Staff felt they had to have cameras on so the bosses could see them and their commitment. Once remote work started, that pressure to be seen shifted to virtual meetings. In the office, that might mean working long hours, networking or simply finding ways to draw attention to your contribution.

Historically, workers have felt pressure to be visible in front of the boss. 'At the beginning of the pandemic, it made a lot of sense that people wanted to be on camera, because we were living under the premise that this was going to be a two-week pause of our lives – and so we were like, 'We want to see everybody, we want to connect',' says Allison Gabriel, professor of management and organisations at the University of Arizona, US, who's studied the effects of Zoom fatigue.īut experts say the reason we still view 'cameras on' as the default today is tied to long-standing, problematic norms linked to presenteeism that preceded the pandemic. But experts also suggest turning off cameras could, along with mitigating the annoyance of always appearing on screen, improve worker wellbeing – and makes meetings more efficient, to boot. Having a camera on can often be seen as a sign of engagement proof an employee really is committed to their work. These days, millions of workers spend hours each day on video calls, exhausting themselves trying to decode colleagues’ body language or distracted by their own image on screen. But, two and a half years into the pandemic, that same technology has become something of a curse, too. Platforms such as Zoom were a blessing when Covid-19 lockdowns hit, allowing many people to work from home. 'Good morning, team! If we could all turn our cameras on for this meeting, that'd be great.' It's a line that's become a common refrain in the remote work era – but one that many employees dread.

Zoom test video cam