Should video always be on during Zoom meetings?
This year, I hired a new team member and this is their first job out of school. We’re hybrid, but he is working fully remote due to a medical exception (ADHD).
He’s smart, talented, and doing fantastic work so far. However, he doesn’t usually come on camera during meetings. I’m worried about this change because other team members are now starting to turn their cameras off, too. How do I get everyone to turn back on the video?
Honestly, you're the manager, so just communicating turning on video as a clear expectation is all you have to do. But I think it might be helpful if you dug deeper into why you're worried when people switch off their video.
Do you think that's the only way people will pay attention? Do you worry about social interaction?
You say the team member is doing "fantastic work," so it's not about their output. What's the real reason you think of turning off video as bad? Let's challenge this assumption before enforcing it.
In my experience, there are a couple of reasons why team members might prefer meetings without video:
1. Video makes meetings difficult for those with less reliable internet
Without video, their audio works fine. But with video, their audio is now cutting out, and they're distracted by grainy, stunted visuals.
Instead of focusing on understanding and internalizing what is being said, they have to focus on translating, and so much information ends up getting lost.
2. Video is performative to them
You mention this team member has ADHD. I can't speak to their personal experience, but for many people with ADHD, it takes extra effort to stay focused on the task at hand. They might have built-in habits to help combat this (like fidget toys), which might be perceived as distractions if you didn't know better.
For others, like women or people with life happening in the background, video puts an extra burden on them. Women have to spend additional time to meet higher standards to look "presentable". For those sharing a workspace with life, video meetings shift the focus from absorbing the content to looking professional.
3. Video takes away more than it provides
If the point of the meeting isn't relationship-building, video might be getting in the way of the actual goal. Strategy or task-based meetings should be designed to allow attendees to focus 100% on what needs to be done. Video delays, technical issues, and seeing yourself, all get in the way of this.
There's a difference between looking productive and being productive. You might have internalized a belief that if you don't see the team member, then they must not be working. But as we see above, video might be making their work worse - not better. By forcing the videos always on practice, you're creating the circumstances you were hoping to avoid.
So what are your options? Personally, none of my recurring work meetings use video. Even my team-building calls are video-optional. Also, I have a question in Calendly so the person booking can choose video or voice call. The majority select voice call.
Keeping video optional helps to:
Limit Zoom fatigue
Allow people to take meetings where they want (ex. on walks)
Make it a personal choice on what works best for them
"But how am I supposed to make sure my team is paying attention and not multi-tasking?"
Start by remembering your team members are adults. Treat them that way. Using video shouldn't be about control. Trust your team. And if you can't, consider that getting better at hiring might be where you need to place your focus instead.
If you catch yourself telling people to turn on their video, take a moment to consider the three points above. They might have a very good reason for keeping their video off. The disadvantages might outweigh the benefits for them. Keep in mind that by requiring video, you may actually be hindering their work.
