Survey reveals workers cook during off-camera meetings

Workers Cooking and Sleeping During Off-Camera Meetings

I’d hate for someone to have a cooking accident while they’re on Zoom and not be a full participant in the meeting, said John Coleman, co-CEO of Atlanta-based Sovereign’s Capital, as reported by Fox News.

Colleagues on video calls may be chopping, stirring, and whipping up meals while their cameras are turned off, according to a national survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by Savanta for AI meeting assistant company Bluedot and reported by Fox News. The survey found that 17 percent of respondents have cooked during a work meeting with their cameras off. Among Gen Z participants, that figure climbed to 26 percent.

The survey data also reveals several other off-camera habits. Twenty-three percent of respondents reported using the restroom during a meeting with their cameras off, 14 percent have shopped online, and 13 percent have exercised. Meanwhile, 12 percent have fallen asleep during a camera-off work meeting, with that specific figure jumping to 30 percent among Gen Z respondents.

Executive Reactions to Off-Camera Multitasking

Corporate leaders and career experts hold starkly different views on what employees do when their video feeds are disabled. John Coleman told Fox News that he occasionally eats lunch during back-to-back meetings and takes conference calls while exercising with his camera off, but he draws the line at cooking. He recalled an incident where a colleague forgot his video was still on and carried a laptop into the restroom, providing a live view to everyone on the call.

Coleman advises treating video calls as if participants were face-to-face. He recommends sending a quick message when stepping away to complete a task. Furthermore, he argues that organizations share the blame for poor meeting hygiene. A lot of this responsibility, I think, rests on organizations, Coleman said, noting that companies often overcrowd meetings and make them too long.

Other leaders emphasize empathy and flexibility regarding remote work habits. Kristen Hadeed, a Texas-based leadership expert and author of “Human Leadership,” told Fox News that her company treats making lunch as “human time,” which is a daily necessity employees should be able to manage. These moments are part of life, and I want my team to feel empowered to take the time they need while maintaining open communication with the team, she said.

Catherine Fisher, LinkedIn’s vice president of communications and a career expert based in California, told Fox News that the central issue is whether multitasking actually hinders participation. The question isn’t necessarily, ‘Are you doing anything else?’ It’s, ‘Can you still contribute when you’re needed?’ Fisher said. She added that the higher share of Gen Z workers cooking during meetings likely stems from the pandemic shaping their early career expectations when home and work boundaries blurred.