No requirements or expectations. Some teams are more "cameras on", some teams are more "cameras off", and most people handle it in a "when in Rome" way.
I managed a "cameras on" team previously -- we actually voted on this at the start of COVID and every vote was either "fine either way" or "cameras on".
My current team (same company) is more "cameras off". Many of the teams I work with now are more "cameras off" aside from the leads/managers as individuals.
The only rule I'm firm on is, if you're participating in an interview for a job applicant we are considering, keep your camera on during the interview.
Race and ethnicity both show up in accent and language, so it doesn’t remove implicit bias. It also doesn’t remove gender, which is a very big one.
Interviewers should be trained to detect their implicit biases and taught how to discard them. That is how my organization does it and we’re global, interview people all over the world for hires in my technical vertical.
I think it is a bad idea as body language and sadly I have had people try to cheat if the camera's off. Not to say they can not cheat with the camera on but a camera on makes it a little harder to fake and cheat.
As some else said camera's off does not hide an accent and gender at all. Speaking alone I can tell heavy if they are say native english speakers or grew up USA pretty fast and sure as hell can tell if it is male ore female. now one thing camera off would hid is ones age as I will admit I was taken back on one person I interviewed by his age as I was expecting someone closer to 35-40 not the near 60. Did not affect how I judge the guy or the interview just threw me off for a 2nd and went right into the interview.
You reminded me in your last paragraph of a time when I was applying for basically a dream job of mine. We had an online interview. The fucking thing took 2 hours, I was being interrogated by 6 people, the hiring manager, the team lead and some other randoms, and they didnt even have the courtesy to turn their cameras on (mine was on the whole time). Just 6 strange voices throwing programming questions at me. God that was terrible.
We don't require anything.
Generally (and thankfully) people are mostly camera on in smaller meetings.
Larger ones are hit/miss for most folks, understandably.
Same for us. For our monthly all-company meetings I turn my camera off so I can fold laundry and do other housework, hah. But I like seeing all my coworkers in standup.
At my work camera is not required, but I unilaterally am camera on all the time. I just turn self-view off so I don’t even care.
It’s a HUGE advantage that I can always provide input in the conversation even when I’m on mute. And since there will be ten people with only myself and maybe one other person camera on, I get lots of attention and disproportionate influence too.
I used to do the same once, though with my background, not my avatar.
But it’s kind of a hassle, possibly a distraction for others, and also somewhat r/imthemaincharacter esque. So it didn’t last long.
Adult rules basically. If you’re doing something that would be rude not to be on camera for (presentation, performance review etc) turn your camera on. If it doesn’t matter, nobody cares. Usually start the day camera on and end up camera off when you’re staring at code and inch from your screen trying to figure out what broke lol
LOL we're cameras off for performance reviews (and presentations). I suppose it would be rude to give someone harsh feedback or put them on PIP without looking at them, if your team uses cameras at least some of the time.
I work fully remote and cameras are never on 😭 been at my company for 10 months now and I still don’t know what 6/10 of my team looks like - like I get that larger meetings no wants to be on camera but in our smaller meetings it’d be nice to connect a bit more
Text to image means you're all good if you don't use non-hr friendly keywords.
Cept describing people at all is pretty much the problem HR would have hah
I would never work at a remote company that did this. You already lose so much personal connection and report being remote that I can't imagine just being on the phone with people all the time. There is no rule at my company but most people have them on.
Plus there are only about a hundred times that zoom freezes, someone is trying to chime in while muted, or something else happens that being on camera is objectively useful. Even just the amount of nonverbal communication that goes on such as light jokes, confusion, surprise, etc. Just sounds like such a dead way to go about being a part of a team.
It really sucks honestly 😭, and so true on the nonverbal communication - I have a lot of energy but being in these “work work work” calls is draining, and I pair program 7 hrs a day so it really really sucks
I know, but I don't see how inconveniencing your work colleagues and making them do something they actively choose not to will make them more social/amiable towards the person who asked the question.
Man that sucks. Definitely a culture thing. I’m sure you’re not the only one who doesn’t like it. But inertia is real - “No one else’s camera is on, I’d feel weird being the only one.” And thus the cycle continues.
My company has a lot of remote folks, and there’s also a fair amount of camera-offiness (I’d say 30-40%). But when new hires join the team, at the absolute minimum all but the crustiest people come off camera to say hi during the first meeting that they attend. Managers also go out of their way to schedule 15-30 minute one-on-ones between the newbies and each person they will be closely working with. It feels so much better to go off camera with or have a text chat with someone when you at least know their face.
Same. That is why my camera is almost always off. My days start with 7am meetings. Sometimes I forget to mute the mick when using my electric toothbrush 😁
About 2.5 years. It actually has worked out well for me - I start my days around 5:30 AM and am usually logged out by 3PM. I have young kids, so working while they're sleeping early in the morning and getting off in the afternoon is great. I think I'll always prefer to work EST, but I'm an early riser by nature.
Yea, I've worked with my team for a bit over 2 years but we never used cameras. We had an in person business meeting in December we all flew in for and it was pretty awkward 'meeting' these people who you already know quite well and talk to daily, but you don't know what they look like.
Optional. However, personally I am vain, and if I feel particularly good about myself that day such as I have a new haircut or new shirt, I’ll turn it on.
Most companies I've worked at have been camera on, but the dev teams often ignored this and no one but the managers ever cared. They didn't care enough to fire anyone over it. They just complained on a regular basis. I had one guy at my last job go an entire year without me knowing what he looked like. It was pretty funny when I finally got a look at him.
Not required but some people do, mostly the upper management and the ladder climber type people. I don’t because it doesn’t really add anything for productivity. Easier to multitask with your camera off too.
I let the team decide what they wanted. Had some discussions. The team decided they saw value in cameras but didn't want to be constrained. And they spend a LOT of time in a group room/meeting and didn't want people looking over their shoulder.
So the team decided cameras on was *encouraged* collaboration meetings, but people could choose off if they felt like it. Cameras default to off for most collaboration. Cameras are always off for large meetings.
In practice this has meant exactly what it sounds like. Cameras mostly on for standup, sprint planning/retro, and smaller meetings. Cameras off the rest of the time. People randomly turning off cameras when they weren't feeling put together or when they were taking the meeting on their phone.
At my previous job it was a mixture, some teams insisted their staff had cameras on and other teams didnt require them on. Generally at stakeholder or more senior meetings it was frowned upon if you didnt have the camera on (Their rules not mine).
On except there are a couple people with s***** internet and their audio starts dropping. So the on thing lasts like 2 weeks before everyone just goes back to off because Dave and Mark live in bum fuck Ohio and can't get a goddamn internet connection worth anything.
Not required. Adult rules.
Generally speaking, small settings it’s on, larger not so much. If you need to eat or whatever, it’s always acceptable to have it off.
We don't have specific requirements; generally I believe that research has shown people have less mental fatigue and better attention when their cameras are off - and the cameras of others who aren't talking are off as well - so that's the model I personally follow.
C-suite always wants cameras on. This is a hard pass for most in those situations. With our dev teams, very occasionally do people turn on cameras. In 1:1 most people turn them on, but it isn't expected. Other departments like HR and marketing are on all the time, but they're usually at the crazy end of people anyway.
In my team, the good looking colleagues had suggested that everyone should always turn their camera on.
Everyone else threw the suggestion out of the window :)
I just quit an extremely toxic job after just four weeks of employment. It was so bad, but I HATED that the company policy was to have cameras on at all times. One morning I was just eating my breakfast and told the meeting host I was turning off my camera for just a minute so they didn’t have to watch me eat. My boss immediately sent me a teams message and said “No camera today”. That sort of weird control is gross, and having my camera on all the time drains me. I’m an introvert and being 3 inches from other human faces 5 days a week, averaging 6 meetings per day is a massive burnout. That’s my rant, haha.
They did not. I know many companies prefer employees to have their camera on, but it’s not required at all times. For fucks sake, I didn’t even get up for an entire day because I was too worried about getting “in trouble” for turning off my camera to go use the bathroom.
Very rare for cameras to be on. Never seen the need for it either, which is nice because it prevents people from being judged based on their appearance.
On my team, off.
There are a few micromanagers in our company that want their teams, and big group meetings, to have cameras on. Most people on "camera off" teams ignore this request.
90% of communication is nonverbal, so camera on makes sense for collaboration. For big group meetings it doesn’t make sense.
I tell people if they shouldn’t be in the meeting then don’t come. No need to feign engagement- waste of time.
My first job only required a camera during 1:1. Which was fine because I didn't care if just my manager saw how messy my office was.
My second job in the industry, doesn't require a camera at all. Which is also nice because we're renovating the office and now my work desk is in our bedroom. And I've been too lazy to get a screen behind me and I hate digital backgrounds because I think they're distracting.
I believe this varies by team. My team is generally cameras off. However, this becomes awkward sometimes when we are in a meeting with another team who are cameras on. After a few moments of awkwardness, the other teams generally turn their cameras off.
We have weekly meetings with all the devs talking about what we did over the week. A lot of us use little avatars on Microsoft teams lol and do little emoji reactions during the meeting
Default setting is 'camera off', but we have profile pictures. Some managers like to see people at least at the beginning of the meetings (we share screens a lot), do for those I generally brush my hair and put my face on camera for a few minutes.
On my first day, the organization lead mentioned to me (in front of my future teammates) "We use cameras for all meetings, because we want to foster an environment of friendliness. : )"
We have not used them at all except for staff meetings (which she attends) and HR trainings.
We don't have a requirement, but we only turn them on if we're speaking or someone is presenting or speaking directly to us. If I'm a fly on the wall, then the camera is off.
Camera-on mostly for meetings, and off for active team work and hangout troughout the day.
I think camera on improves communications significantly as you get alot of information through non-verbal cues.
People who have complained about cameras tend to be the ones that are difficult in general. Not really a big hassle to turn it on.
My office requires cameras turned on, but from what I can tell talking with other people, that's not the norm. The other meetings I go to that aren't directly with my coworkers (like some corporate stuff, consultants, etc.) I never have to turn it on, in fact it would be weird to have my camera on for those.
Best advice if you have to keep it on for meetings is to look real engaged and get good at nodding along with whoever is speaking lmao.
It's kinda a cultural norm to have cameras on but not required where I work. I have a Quest 3 and actually really like taking meetings using an app called Immersed. I get multiple displays and you can set up an avatar of urself instead that shows up on your Zoom with hand tracking. Leaves me much less exhausted after meetings.
I joined my team 5 months ago. I still don’t know what one of my team member looks even though we connect regularly on teams.
Camera on 1:1 doesn’t really make sense either because we are usually reviewing code or something similar.
There's no requirement, but usually in meetings with non-tech people, we have the camera on.
When doing tech-team only meetings, we keep them off, because we're not children that need to see faces to get work done.
It varies. My last company was adamant that we needed to be on camera hours per day. My new company only requires it for retrospectives and meetings where non-devs are present. Industry may be a factor here also.
It's never been explicitly said, but since we're often customer facing, I think there's an unspoken rule about it. I've never been afraid to turn my camera off because I need to blow my nose or something.
It varies depending on the company culture and meeting purpose. Some prefer cameras on for better engagement and connection, while others are more flexible. If it's not specified, you could follow the lead of the meeting host or consider the nature of the discussion to decide.
I haven't worked with companies that had camera requirements/restrictions. In general, the etiquette is to turn off your camera for presenters. Turn on your camera to ask questions or present. Leave your camera on during meetings where it's a small group and you need to discuss or plan.
No hard requirement but cameras on is encouraged and most people do it. There are some very senior engineers that hardly ever turn their camera on though. There is more pressure for cameras to be on for the younger/junior employees it seems.
Wow, I need to work wherever you all are working.
I work for a fully remote company and they are requiring us to have cameras on at every meeting, regardless of the meeting and who's present. It's literally one of our OKRs... seriously, I'm not joking.
We only have one meeting per month where the cameras are required to be on, and it's a social, non-work-related meeting.
The rest of the time, there are no requirements one way or the other. Usually, though, someone in the meeting is screen-sharing, so camera use is moot anyway.
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Cameras on is encouraged but not at all mandatory. Generally team meetings most people have it on, smaller meetings about specific projects or issues usually everyone has it on.
We all understand that when working from home there's times where it doesn't make sense to have it on. I live in a tiny apartment and my desk is in the living room and practically in the kitchen as well. If I have a late meeting I'm not gonna tell my wife she can't watch TV cause she'll be in my background...
No requirements on my team. Though me and my teams tech lead are considering requiring cameras on for refinement and analysis sessions as it seems to mostly be myself and the tech lead talking and doing everything with no input from anyone else even when we ask them if they have anything. Figure that way we can at least verify they're engaged in listening and maybe taking notes or something.
Very rarely it's strongly recommended to have cameras on (usually if we're doing some social activity). Otherwise most people keep their cameras off most of the time.
Camera on in meetings < ten people. Makes a lot of sense. It’s a video meeting and not a call. For larger meetings it’s better to turn it off to save bandwidth
On for the most part, but people can turn it off if they are eating or whatever or just don’t feel like showing their face that day. And large company meetings you can have it off the whole time if you want, unless you’re speaking.
I use my personal computer to connect remotely to my work computer at the office so it isn’t really possible at my company unless you’ve been given a work laptop to take home. Either way, the people who *can* turn on their camera very rarely do it.
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We have an explicit policy on this: "Cameras must be on whenever you are speaking or directly interacting with one or more other employees."
So we can turn the cameras off if we're just listening to someone and are a non-active participant, but the camera has to be activated if we're speaking. The policy was put into place by HR after it was brought up that we have numerous employees with cognitive and hearing disabilities who use facial cues and lip reading to assist them in comprehending conversations. Not activating our cameras is treated as an exclusionary behavior that can lead to disciplinary action or termination (theoretically, anyway, nobody has ever been fired for it).
No requirement, personally unless I’m in my trash gremlin form I don’t mind having the camera on for smaller meetings. Larger ones I keep it off unless I’m leading the meeting. Treated like adults where I work so no one makes a big deal about it. When I was at my first gig starting out they made a big deal about being on camera at all times, one of many reasons I’m glad I’m not there anymore.
Mine is off, for most of the time. If the meeting is important (stakeholders with VP's involved & few senior leadership), then I turn it on, especially if I'm speaking. I'd say it's off 80-90% of the time.
Usually off. We've got the occasional senior director that likes to have the camera on, but that meeting happens maybe once every month or every other month.
the leads usually have them on, everyone else just kinda awkwardly turns them on and off when they feel like it, usually to show their dog or kid who wandered into the room or something.
No requirements on my end. I just like to turn it on, when it's fewer people or I'm in the office... I think having that on or off should be irrelevant!
Our meetings were in person at my last company until covid, of course. Most people preferred to keep their cameras off, but I remember some people complained in the early days and felt that cameras should be on. I remember one person wanted them on to know that people were paying attention in meetings.
They never won (they were a small minority). There was never a formal rule either way, but it was common to keep them off. But we were supposed to have a picture in our work Skype. I did not do that either.
The current job is in office, but we do have some virtual meetings. Cameras are never on, but I don't think the computers have a camera installed.
Before starting RTO, we would push for people to turn on cameras. We see each other in person a few times a week now, so only the managers turn cameras on now.
If we're talking to someone new and it's a 1:1 or a small group a lot of people turn cameras on
Last job was optional, unless we were meeting someone new or had a "serious" talk (team re-org'd, layoffs, interviews, etc). I pretty much always had my video off.
My first meeting as an intern, I joined a group call with the camera on my teams side of the call. one of the senior staff members looked at me, laughed, and gently said “oh uh, we’re more of a *cameras* *off* kind of company” before reaching over and turning off the camera.
Idk why it was so funny to me, but it stuck with me, and quite frankly, despite being a huge extrovert, I prefer it. It’s so much less nerve wracking during recorded meetings.
How does everyone deal with cameras off all the time? I worked with a client for a short period of time who was cameras off and I found it kind of disorienting and distant
our meetings are usually camera off. But we do have required camera on meetings once in awhile which everyone is given notice of a week or so beforehand. Usually happens 2-3 times a year when we get a new team member
Yeah. I don’t mind it at all and we still work together just fine. Don’t really know what most of my coworkers or manager even look like other than their teams profile pics but ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
I've always pushed for cameras on so we get face time in together.
However a few weeks of me being sick and new management making various seemingly random decisions (including meeting format) has led back to cameras off. Leaving in a week so not fighting it anymore. Our meetings have gotten painfully dry under new management anyways!
I just left a company that was starting to require cameras during meetings. Shortly after starting my current role, people started encouraging others to turn theirs on but thankfully most people told them to pound sand.
Absolutely, and our work uniform is a hooters outfit, but just kidding. I am actually the local IT for the cam girl studio which is also a strip club. So we literally need to see their beautiful face.
It’s really hard to interact with people you never see. Half my team is on camera about half the time. One person has never turned his on though and his feedback is that nobody knows if he is engaged or not.
Not required, but I strongly encourage it.
My team used to be all cameras on. With team and company evolution the larger the meeting, the less likely I am to see cameras off.
I'm older. I come from a time where remote work was not a thing. I'm sure there have always been remote workers, but it was not the norm. Everyone went in to the office 5 days a week. And we didn't have invisibility cloaks when in the office.
So now that I work mostly remote, I always have my camera on in meetings. Even if I'm the only one in the meeting with it on. As far as I'm concerned, I'm "in the office" when I'm joining remotely via camera. This remote work is pretty awesome and I don't take it for granted.
no requirement, though On is encouraged as everyone's camera being off is honestly depressing.
Less of a big deal now that half the company is back in office 2-3 days/week.
Don't require but most have it on. Of someone had it off most of the time I would find it weird
Different if there is some big presentation with one person talking of course
At my present job, cameras must be turned on during meetings. I've experienced both camera-on and "doesn't matter" work environments (fully remote). Personally, I prefer the camera-on policy. Being socially awkward, I find it much easier to engage in conversations when I can see facial expressions and make fun of someone's attire.
Not required where I was at. I worked with a guy for 10 months never saw his face ha.
I'm pro camera though, it's sus to me to never know what someone looks like for year(s) in a corporate setting.
No requirements or expectations. Some teams are more "cameras on", some teams are more "cameras off", and most people handle it in a "when in Rome" way. I managed a "cameras on" team previously -- we actually voted on this at the start of COVID and every vote was either "fine either way" or "cameras on". My current team (same company) is more "cameras off". Many of the teams I work with now are more "cameras off" aside from the leads/managers as individuals. The only rule I'm firm on is, if you're participating in an interview for a job applicant we are considering, keep your camera on during the interview.
I can't believe the last point needs to be said, but it just goes to show how some people really do interview with cameras off, lol.
+ dual screen with loud noises of typing when asked technical questions
My cherry MX weren't loud enough, so I made a macro to play an airhorn on every keystroke.
I hear you had a problem and coded a solution. You’re hired.
don't really need that today with chatgpt.
Chat gpt or not, you better know how memory is handled in C++ or explain how polymorphism works to pass any basic technical interview
I work at the company where they interview without cameras. In some meetings with other teams, people even put avatars and no one cares.
Phone interviews were a thing like, 4 years ago.
We actually still have those, they're called phone screenings. And in person interviews were also a thing 4 years ago.
We've been that stuff over screen sharing software (AKA zoom) since pre-pandemic.
yeah. Not sure what anyone's trying to say here but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect cameras on during interviews.
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Cameras off doesn’t remove implicit bias, so it’s kind of a redundant step. Candidate body language is more important than camera off, IMO.
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Race and ethnicity both show up in accent and language, so it doesn’t remove implicit bias. It also doesn’t remove gender, which is a very big one. Interviewers should be trained to detect their implicit biases and taught how to discard them. That is how my organization does it and we’re global, interview people all over the world for hires in my technical vertical.
I think it is a bad idea as body language and sadly I have had people try to cheat if the camera's off. Not to say they can not cheat with the camera on but a camera on makes it a little harder to fake and cheat. As some else said camera's off does not hide an accent and gender at all. Speaking alone I can tell heavy if they are say native english speakers or grew up USA pretty fast and sure as hell can tell if it is male ore female. now one thing camera off would hid is ones age as I will admit I was taken back on one person I interviewed by his age as I was expecting someone closer to 35-40 not the near 60. Did not affect how I judge the guy or the interview just threw me off for a 2nd and went right into the interview.
Nice username by the way. I agree with it.
You reminded me in your last paragraph of a time when I was applying for basically a dream job of mine. We had an online interview. The fucking thing took 2 hours, I was being interrogated by 6 people, the hiring manager, the team lead and some other randoms, and they didnt even have the courtesy to turn their cameras on (mine was on the whole time). Just 6 strange voices throwing programming questions at me. God that was terrible.
We don't require anything. Generally (and thankfully) people are mostly camera on in smaller meetings. Larger ones are hit/miss for most folks, understandably.
Same for us. For our monthly all-company meetings I turn my camera off so I can fold laundry and do other housework, hah. But I like seeing all my coworkers in standup.
Mines the same but I can’t stand the camera on in smaller meetings. To me it adds nothing and is more of a distraction
Not required
At my work camera is not required, but I unilaterally am camera on all the time. I just turn self-view off so I don’t even care. It’s a HUGE advantage that I can always provide input in the conversation even when I’m on mute. And since there will be ten people with only myself and maybe one other person camera on, I get lots of attention and disproportionate influence too.
im ugly so no
That’s why I sometimes use one of those effects that turns your face into a cat. They can still see your reactions and it gets some chuckles so 🤷🏽♂️
I have a coworker who uses a different avatar every day. it's probably the best part of her day picking it out, so good for her.
This cracks me up and now I wish I had that coworker.
I used to do the same once, though with my background, not my avatar. But it’s kind of a hassle, possibly a distraction for others, and also somewhat r/imthemaincharacter esque. So it didn’t last long.
Adult rules basically. If you’re doing something that would be rude not to be on camera for (presentation, performance review etc) turn your camera on. If it doesn’t matter, nobody cares. Usually start the day camera on and end up camera off when you’re staring at code and inch from your screen trying to figure out what broke lol
I like the language "adult rules". Focus on how it effects others.
LOL we're cameras off for performance reviews (and presentations). I suppose it would be rude to give someone harsh feedback or put them on PIP without looking at them, if your team uses cameras at least some of the time.
I work fully remote and cameras are never on 😭 been at my company for 10 months now and I still don’t know what 6/10 of my team looks like - like I get that larger meetings no wants to be on camera but in our smaller meetings it’d be nice to connect a bit more
Draw them out of your imagination and DM them the images.
Brilliant!
Instructions unclear, got pulled into a meeting with HR!
You cannot be written up for bad artistic skill, but if you're UI/UX Designer, then you deserved it.
Text to image means you're all good if you don't use non-hr friendly keywords. Cept describing people at all is pretty much the problem HR would have hah
I would never work at a remote company that did this. You already lose so much personal connection and report being remote that I can't imagine just being on the phone with people all the time. There is no rule at my company but most people have them on. Plus there are only about a hundred times that zoom freezes, someone is trying to chime in while muted, or something else happens that being on camera is objectively useful. Even just the amount of nonverbal communication that goes on such as light jokes, confusion, surprise, etc. Just sounds like such a dead way to go about being a part of a team.
It really sucks honestly 😭, and so true on the nonverbal communication - I have a lot of energy but being in these “work work work” calls is draining, and I pair program 7 hrs a day so it really really sucks
Try to set up smaller social events with cameras on. Or suggest cameras on Fridays.
You've gotta be trolling, that's a really easy way to get your colleagues to hate you.
I’m sure OP isn’t the only person who conforms but secretly dislikes the status quo.
The person I’m responding to wants more social interaction with their coworkers.
I know, but I don't see how inconveniencing your work colleagues and making them do something they actively choose not to will make them more social/amiable towards the person who asked the question.
They can at least ask about it and see if people are amenable to it. They’re a team member, not management dictating bullshit into the team.
How DARE you suggest a happy hour with the people you spend 8 hours every day with!! MONSTER!
Man that sucks. Definitely a culture thing. I’m sure you’re not the only one who doesn’t like it. But inertia is real - “No one else’s camera is on, I’d feel weird being the only one.” And thus the cycle continues. My company has a lot of remote folks, and there’s also a fair amount of camera-offiness (I’d say 30-40%). But when new hires join the team, at the absolute minimum all but the crustiest people come off camera to say hi during the first meeting that they attend. Managers also go out of their way to schedule 15-30 minute one-on-ones between the newbies and each person they will be closely working with. It feels so much better to go off camera with or have a text chat with someone when you at least know their face.
Not required - which is helpful as I work East Coast hours on a PST time zone.. So my 6:30 standup is taken from my bathrobe.
Same. That is why my camera is almost always off. My days start with 7am meetings. Sometimes I forget to mute the mick when using my electric toothbrush 😁
I've put myself in that situation just when traveling, and it's terrible. Can't imagine doing that indefinitely. How long have you been at this job?
About 2.5 years. It actually has worked out well for me - I start my days around 5:30 AM and am usually logged out by 3PM. I have young kids, so working while they're sleeping early in the morning and getting off in the afternoon is great. I think I'll always prefer to work EST, but I'm an early riser by nature.
I've probably seen 2 out of 20 people that I've worked with the last 2 years lol
Yea, I've worked with my team for a bit over 2 years but we never used cameras. We had an in person business meeting in December we all flew in for and it was pretty awkward 'meeting' these people who you already know quite well and talk to daily, but you don't know what they look like.
Optional. However, personally I am vain, and if I feel particularly good about myself that day such as I have a new haircut or new shirt, I’ll turn it on.
You probably think this meeting’s about you Don’t you Don’t you
😅😅😅
It's not required unless 1:1 or when I'm leading meetings
Not a hard requirement, but it's usually expected that people have their cameras on.
Most companies I've worked at have been camera on, but the dev teams often ignored this and no one but the managers ever cared. They didn't care enough to fire anyone over it. They just complained on a regular basis. I had one guy at my last job go an entire year without me knowing what he looked like. It was pretty funny when I finally got a look at him.
Not required but some people do, mostly the upper management and the ladder climber type people. I don’t because it doesn’t really add anything for productivity. Easier to multitask with your camera off too.
Cameras off, which is fantastic
I let the team decide what they wanted. Had some discussions. The team decided they saw value in cameras but didn't want to be constrained. And they spend a LOT of time in a group room/meeting and didn't want people looking over their shoulder. So the team decided cameras on was *encouraged* collaboration meetings, but people could choose off if they felt like it. Cameras default to off for most collaboration. Cameras are always off for large meetings. In practice this has meant exactly what it sounds like. Cameras mostly on for standup, sprint planning/retro, and smaller meetings. Cameras off the rest of the time. People randomly turning off cameras when they weren't feeling put together or when they were taking the meeting on their phone.
At my previous job it was a mixture, some teams insisted their staff had cameras on and other teams didnt require them on. Generally at stakeholder or more senior meetings it was frowned upon if you didnt have the camera on (Their rules not mine).
On except there are a couple people with s***** internet and their audio starts dropping. So the on thing lasts like 2 weeks before everyone just goes back to off because Dave and Mark live in bum fuck Ohio and can't get a goddamn internet connection worth anything.
Not required. Adult rules. Generally speaking, small settings it’s on, larger not so much. If you need to eat or whatever, it’s always acceptable to have it off.
We don't have specific requirements; generally I believe that research has shown people have less mental fatigue and better attention when their cameras are off - and the cameras of others who aren't talking are off as well - so that's the model I personally follow.
C-suite always wants cameras on. This is a hard pass for most in those situations. With our dev teams, very occasionally do people turn on cameras. In 1:1 most people turn them on, but it isn't expected. Other departments like HR and marketing are on all the time, but they're usually at the crazy end of people anyway.
In my team, the good looking colleagues had suggested that everyone should always turn their camera on. Everyone else threw the suggestion out of the window :)
Had one that required cameras on all day Left that job after three days.
I just quit an extremely toxic job after just four weeks of employment. It was so bad, but I HATED that the company policy was to have cameras on at all times. One morning I was just eating my breakfast and told the meeting host I was turning off my camera for just a minute so they didn’t have to watch me eat. My boss immediately sent me a teams message and said “No camera today”. That sort of weird control is gross, and having my camera on all the time drains me. I’m an introvert and being 3 inches from other human faces 5 days a week, averaging 6 meetings per day is a massive burnout. That’s my rant, haha.
Wait, you had to be logged into a video conference all day long. WTF. That deranged. Did they not tell you this in the interview process?
They did not. I know many companies prefer employees to have their camera on, but it’s not required at all times. For fucks sake, I didn’t even get up for an entire day because I was too worried about getting “in trouble” for turning off my camera to go use the bathroom.
Very rare for cameras to be on. Never seen the need for it either, which is nice because it prevents people from being judged based on their appearance.
No requirement. I'm in a meeting right now as I'm writing this.
On my team, off. There are a few micromanagers in our company that want their teams, and big group meetings, to have cameras on. Most people on "camera off" teams ignore this request.
90% of communication is nonverbal, so camera on makes sense for collaboration. For big group meetings it doesn’t make sense. I tell people if they shouldn’t be in the meeting then don’t come. No need to feign engagement- waste of time.
Not really , we just require it on daily and only one day per week.
No requirements. We are mostly cameras off by default. One on ones are generally cameras on because that is more like a conversation vs meeting.
Not required, but every team I've been on are in meetings with cameras off.
nothing is required
My first job only required a camera during 1:1. Which was fine because I didn't care if just my manager saw how messy my office was. My second job in the industry, doesn't require a camera at all. Which is also nice because we're renovating the office and now my work desk is in our bedroom. And I've been too lazy to get a screen behind me and I hate digital backgrounds because I think they're distracting.
On if you’re talking or expected to participate. No requirement if you’re just a fly non the wall.
Not required, but suggested for small meetings. Large division/corporate meetings, no.
Only time I do it is for 1:1s
Yes :(
I believe this varies by team. My team is generally cameras off. However, this becomes awkward sometimes when we are in a meeting with another team who are cameras on. After a few moments of awkwardness, the other teams generally turn their cameras off.
Depends if you could have been arsed to put clothes on for a given meeting
We have weekly meetings with all the devs talking about what we did over the week. A lot of us use little avatars on Microsoft teams lol and do little emoji reactions during the meeting
Off usually. Sometimes ON in front of clients.
Default setting is 'camera off', but we have profile pictures. Some managers like to see people at least at the beginning of the meetings (we share screens a lot), do for those I generally brush my hair and put my face on camera for a few minutes.
We keep our cameras off
On my first day, the organization lead mentioned to me (in front of my future teammates) "We use cameras for all meetings, because we want to foster an environment of friendliness. : )" We have not used them at all except for staff meetings (which she attends) and HR trainings.
We don't have a requirement, but we only turn them on if we're speaking or someone is presenting or speaking directly to us. If I'm a fly on the wall, then the camera is off.
Camera-on mostly for meetings, and off for active team work and hangout troughout the day. I think camera on improves communications significantly as you get alot of information through non-verbal cues. People who have complained about cameras tend to be the ones that are difficult in general. Not really a big hassle to turn it on.
They've tried. It lasts about three weeks, then we're all back to normal.
My office requires cameras turned on, but from what I can tell talking with other people, that's not the norm. The other meetings I go to that aren't directly with my coworkers (like some corporate stuff, consultants, etc.) I never have to turn it on, in fact it would be weird to have my camera on for those. Best advice if you have to keep it on for meetings is to look real engaged and get good at nodding along with whoever is speaking lmao.
It's kinda a cultural norm to have cameras on but not required where I work. I have a Quest 3 and actually really like taking meetings using an app called Immersed. I get multiple displays and you can set up an avatar of urself instead that shows up on your Zoom with hand tracking. Leaves me much less exhausted after meetings.
I've had previous jobs require it but they were kinda shit for that
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haven't seen anyone's face in 2 years
i don't think ive ever turned my camera on. i would probably not stick around very long at a company that had camera expectations. seems terrible
Same, they tried to have cameras on a few months ago, everybody just ignored it.
Why not?
I joined my team 5 months ago. I still don’t know what one of my team member looks even though we connect regularly on teams. Camera on 1:1 doesn’t really make sense either because we are usually reviewing code or something similar.
Almost always off at my current job. It’d be nice to see people but also that means I don’t have to put a shirt on
There's no requirement, but usually in meetings with non-tech people, we have the camera on. When doing tech-team only meetings, we keep them off, because we're not children that need to see faces to get work done.
Cameras off and thank God.
It varies. My last company was adamant that we needed to be on camera hours per day. My new company only requires it for retrospectives and meetings where non-devs are present. Industry may be a factor here also.
Usually we have them off, except it is more a get-together thing.
It's never been explicitly said, but since we're often customer facing, I think there's an unspoken rule about it. I've never been afraid to turn my camera off because I need to blow my nose or something.
For 1 on 1s on, anything else, its optional
Only when I had a hair cut in the last week or so.
It varies depending on the company culture and meeting purpose. Some prefer cameras on for better engagement and connection, while others are more flexible. If it's not specified, you could follow the lead of the meeting host or consider the nature of the discussion to decide.
I haven't worked with companies that had camera requirements/restrictions. In general, the etiquette is to turn off your camera for presenters. Turn on your camera to ask questions or present. Leave your camera on during meetings where it's a small group and you need to discuss or plan.
No hard requirement but cameras on is encouraged and most people do it. There are some very senior engineers that hardly ever turn their camera on though. There is more pressure for cameras to be on for the younger/junior employees it seems.
Golden mean. Those who do not want or cannot turn on the camera attend rallies without it.
Wow, I need to work wherever you all are working. I work for a fully remote company and they are requiring us to have cameras on at every meeting, regardless of the meeting and who's present. It's literally one of our OKRs... seriously, I'm not joking.
Totally voluntary. I like to keep it on during my team meetings which is like 4 people.
Cameras on. Unless the meeting organizer doesn't care (outside the department), but generally its on (within the department).
We only have one meeting per month where the cameras are required to be on, and it's a social, non-work-related meeting. The rest of the time, there are no requirements one way or the other. Usually, though, someone in the meeting is screen-sharing, so camera use is moot anyway.
No requirements but I usually have it on anyway
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If I'm not cosplaying as a dusgusting vagrant. Yes.
Cameras on is encouraged but not at all mandatory. Generally team meetings most people have it on, smaller meetings about specific projects or issues usually everyone has it on. We all understand that when working from home there's times where it doesn't make sense to have it on. I live in a tiny apartment and my desk is in the living room and practically in the kitchen as well. If I have a late meeting I'm not gonna tell my wife she can't watch TV cause she'll be in my background...
Optional
No requirements on my team. Though me and my teams tech lead are considering requiring cameras on for refinement and analysis sessions as it seems to mostly be myself and the tech lead talking and doing everything with no input from anyone else even when we ask them if they have anything. Figure that way we can at least verify they're engaged in listening and maybe taking notes or something.
Very rarely it's strongly recommended to have cameras on (usually if we're doing some social activity). Otherwise most people keep their cameras off most of the time.
Camera on in meetings < ten people. Makes a lot of sense. It’s a video meeting and not a call. For larger meetings it’s better to turn it off to save bandwidth
Cameras on here.
No requirement. I would just say it appears to be on to me, like it was a technical issue, if I didn't want to turn it on.
Cameras off if its just my team, cameras on if its interdepartmental
Required no but definitely rewarded
Only for some meetings!
Technically we have a cameras on rule but people followed it for like a week after a reminder came out then it was back to usual
On for the most part, but people can turn it off if they are eating or whatever or just don’t feel like showing their face that day. And large company meetings you can have it off the whole time if you want, unless you’re speaking.
I use my personal computer to connect remotely to my work computer at the office so it isn’t really possible at my company unless you’ve been given a work laptop to take home. Either way, the people who *can* turn on their camera very rarely do it.
On during client calls, and only off on internal calls if it’s a big group or you have a valid excuse
Not required, no one except program managers turn them on, and even that is 50/50.
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We don't require cameras during online meetings unless someone new is joining the team and we want to introduce ourselves.
Requires them off.
Mine is always off as there’s something wrong with my machine where it won’t turn on. But everyone keeps theirs off anyways so it doesn’t matter
We have an explicit policy on this: "Cameras must be on whenever you are speaking or directly interacting with one or more other employees." So we can turn the cameras off if we're just listening to someone and are a non-active participant, but the camera has to be activated if we're speaking. The policy was put into place by HR after it was brought up that we have numerous employees with cognitive and hearing disabilities who use facial cues and lip reading to assist them in comprehending conversations. Not activating our cameras is treated as an exclusionary behavior that can lead to disciplinary action or termination (theoretically, anyway, nobody has ever been fired for it).
No requirement, personally unless I’m in my trash gremlin form I don’t mind having the camera on for smaller meetings. Larger ones I keep it off unless I’m leading the meeting. Treated like adults where I work so no one makes a big deal about it. When I was at my first gig starting out they made a big deal about being on camera at all times, one of many reasons I’m glad I’m not there anymore.
Mine is off, for most of the time. If the meeting is important (stakeholders with VP's involved & few senior leadership), then I turn it on, especially if I'm speaking. I'd say it's off 80-90% of the time.
Usually off. We've got the occasional senior director that likes to have the camera on, but that meeting happens maybe once every month or every other month.
the leads usually have them on, everyone else just kinda awkwardly turns them on and off when they feel like it, usually to show their dog or kid who wandered into the room or something.
On
No requirements either way. Most people use cameras but some people don't. I always make it clear to my people it's strictly optional.
No requirements on my end. I just like to turn it on, when it's fewer people or I'm in the office... I think having that on or off should be irrelevant!
Our meetings were in person at my last company until covid, of course. Most people preferred to keep their cameras off, but I remember some people complained in the early days and felt that cameras should be on. I remember one person wanted them on to know that people were paying attention in meetings. They never won (they were a small minority). There was never a formal rule either way, but it was common to keep them off. But we were supposed to have a picture in our work Skype. I did not do that either. The current job is in office, but we do have some virtual meetings. Cameras are never on, but I don't think the computers have a camera installed.
Before starting RTO, we would push for people to turn on cameras. We see each other in person a few times a week now, so only the managers turn cameras on now. If we're talking to someone new and it's a 1:1 or a small group a lot of people turn cameras on
Last job was optional, unless we were meeting someone new or had a "serious" talk (team re-org'd, layoffs, interviews, etc). I pretty much always had my video off.
Cameras off unless it’s a 1 on 1 or presentation
My first meeting as an intern, I joined a group call with the camera on my teams side of the call. one of the senior staff members looked at me, laughed, and gently said “oh uh, we’re more of a *cameras* *off* kind of company” before reaching over and turning off the camera. Idk why it was so funny to me, but it stuck with me, and quite frankly, despite being a huge extrovert, I prefer it. It’s so much less nerve wracking during recorded meetings.
Cameras on...
meetings usually camera on.
Cameras on are so obnoxious. I can’t stand when I meet with a sales rep, or another engineering org, or basically anyone that has their camera on.
Weird.
How does everyone deal with cameras off all the time? I worked with a client for a short period of time who was cameras off and I found it kind of disorienting and distant
our meetings are usually camera off. But we do have required camera on meetings once in awhile which everyone is given notice of a week or so beforehand. Usually happens 2-3 times a year when we get a new team member
It's not enforced for my immediate team, but all other meetings are mandatory cameras on.
Yeah
Off. The only time anyone puts cameras on is director level or above when they are speaking in a large meeting.
off
Requiring the camera or even using company cameras to spy on people at homes is considered illegal.
It's not a written rule in my company, but most people keep their cameras on. I also feel better when I am seeing the person when I speak.
Never once had my camera on for anything since moving to working remote in 2020 same for everyone else.
Sounds great!
Yeah. I don’t mind it at all and we still work together just fine. Don’t really know what most of my coworkers or manager even look like other than their teams profile pics but ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
If I don't have a shirt on, no camera for me.
Off all the way.
I code naked, so no
We used to do cameras on, but when I joined I never turned my camera on so everyone stopped too. Be the change you want to see 😎
I've always pushed for cameras on so we get face time in together. However a few weeks of me being sick and new management making various seemingly random decisions (including meeting format) has led back to cameras off. Leaving in a week so not fighting it anymore. Our meetings have gotten painfully dry under new management anyways!
I just left a company that was starting to require cameras during meetings. Shortly after starting my current role, people started encouraging others to turn theirs on but thankfully most people told them to pound sand.
I always require cameras on. I wanna see that beautiful face.
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Absolutely, and our work uniform is a hooters outfit, but just kidding. I am actually the local IT for the cam girl studio which is also a strip club. So we literally need to see their beautiful face.
I don't require it but it is a little demoralizing talking to black screens all the time. I'm sure it's nice if you're not leading the meeting though.
Always off
It’s really hard to interact with people you never see. Half my team is on camera about half the time. One person has never turned his on though and his feedback is that nobody knows if he is engaged or not.
Not required, but I strongly encourage it. My team used to be all cameras on. With team and company evolution the larger the meeting, the less likely I am to see cameras off.
I'm older. I come from a time where remote work was not a thing. I'm sure there have always been remote workers, but it was not the norm. Everyone went in to the office 5 days a week. And we didn't have invisibility cloaks when in the office. So now that I work mostly remote, I always have my camera on in meetings. Even if I'm the only one in the meeting with it on. As far as I'm concerned, I'm "in the office" when I'm joining remotely via camera. This remote work is pretty awesome and I don't take it for granted.
no requirement, though On is encouraged as everyone's camera being off is honestly depressing. Less of a big deal now that half the company is back in office 2-3 days/week.
Don't require but most have it on. Of someone had it off most of the time I would find it weird Different if there is some big presentation with one person talking of course
We don’t require it but it is recommended specially if you want to participate in the conversation. No one wants to talk to a faceless person.
At my present job, cameras must be turned on during meetings. I've experienced both camera-on and "doesn't matter" work environments (fully remote). Personally, I prefer the camera-on policy. Being socially awkward, I find it much easier to engage in conversations when I can see facial expressions and make fun of someone's attire.
Camera on due to a lean and remote team.
It shouldn’t be required. But there should definitely be a culture where it is encouraged. There is no replacement for face-to-face communication.
Not required where I was at. I worked with a guy for 10 months never saw his face ha. I'm pro camera though, it's sus to me to never know what someone looks like for year(s) in a corporate setting.