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The Race to Embrace Zoom

Martin Villar

By Olivia Moore

Figure 1

There was a 2,900% increase in Zoom meeting participants at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Even though employees have started to head back into the office, Zoom has retained these participants and continues to grow. The retention of Zoom, along with other video-conferencing platforms, for over 18 months suggests that it was not just a tool for the pandemic. If employees are going to be using Zoom for an extended period of time, they will become familiar with the platform.

Many classmates or colleagues frequently ask how to use Microsoft Teams or Google Meet for audio, background, or other settings. However, as time with these platforms has increased, some behavioral patterns have begun to develop. Some employees turn off their cameras and work on other activities as the meeting goes on. Some employees sit quietly and answer occasional questions. Some employees project leadership and confidence—even over a web-conference interaction.2 How can all employees be more intentional on Zoom to strengthen communication?

Employee participants can improve how they use Zoom in (1) relationships, (2) job flexibility, and (3) meetings to gain a competitive advantage and maximize opportunities for success in their workplaces.

 

Why Use Video Conferencing?

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is a leading consultant and business advisory firm that conducts research studying executive and employee preferences for remote work. Figure 1 displays the juxtaposition of two group preferences. The percentage of executives who value working in-office to maintain company culture is shown in tan, while the percentage of employees who value remote work is shown in blue.

 

As seen in Figure 1, about 28% of executives believe employees need to be in-office three days per week.3 In contrast, approximately 28% of employees want to work remotely five days per week. Additionally, the left-skewed nature of the graph suggests that while an increasing number of executives want employees in the office more, an increasing number of employees want to be out of the office more. A large disparity exists between executive and employee interests. However, there is overlap in the form of video conferencing platforms. Video conferencing platforms allow company leadership to interact with their employees meaningfully while employees are able to continue working remotely. Employees will be able to gain management’s trust if they can demonstrate their hard work through video-conferencing strategies.

 

Relationships

 

Currently, employee relationships are created and maintained with in-person office participation including birthday lunches, holiday parties, and everyday desk chatter. As displayed in Figure 1, executives want to avoid remote work because they work in order to maintain a healthy culture, which is heavily tied to office connections.

If remote employees live in unique locations without office participation, there cannot be strong company culture. While shifts are taking place post-COVID, continuing to build and maintain coworker relationships via video-conferencing platforms can increase workplace opportunities for employees.

 

Employee Opportunity

With the shift from in-person work to remote work to video-conferencing hybrid work, one factor that can initiate company connections and relationships is humor.4 Humor is a soft skill that can bridge the gap between staring at a screen and laughing with colleagues over lunch.

According to Indeed, while hard skills on a resume are important, soft skills can turn any employee into a long-term asset for a company.5 Staying muted with the camera off may seem like an easy approach to getting through a call. However, that approach may not advance an employee’s career to achieve their long-term goals, whereas humor can.

Because most people do not want to be disliked at work, using the right type of humor is key. Recently, many people have been canceled for making off-hand comments, and these cancellations can make people worried about cracking any jokes at all.6 However, self-deprecating humor has been shown to wildly increase individuals’ likeability in the office. However, self-deprecating humor has been shown to drastically increase an individual’s likeability within the office.

 

Negative Effects of Disconnection

During times of decreased human interactions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer cultural connections can result in heightened adverse health condition levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in June 2002, 30.9% of participants recorded symptoms of anxiety or depression, and 10.7% of participants reported suicidal thoughts.7

If employees are able to hear voices, see faces, and crack jokes, work-related friendships can be created remotely, which helps individuals feel less distant emotionally. The average human laughs approximately 18 times per day, 97% of which is with other people. With fewer in-person interactions within companies, an emphasis should be placed on cultivating laughter and connections within the workplace to prevent negative health implications.8

 

Flexibility

 

Hybrid work environments, or work environments that consist of video conferencing, provide more everyday flexibility that may entice employees. As the job market shifts to the employees’ advantage, we need to prioritize their interests and skill sets. Employees with highly esteemed skill sets can demand flexibility and video conferencing.

 

Employee Needs

Over time, the expectation that people need to work a 9–5 schedule and stare at their computer screen the entire time has decreased. Parents that need to be a caretaker for kids or other family members can work and take meetings from home, in the car, or even at the doctor’s office. Requiring an in-office-only approach to work does not allow for the flexibility that many individuals need in this day and age.9

 

Additional Demands

Some employees get sick often and may be forced to take weeks off of work. Obtaining an open employer and connection to a team would allow these employees to be more productive. The employees can also continue to contribute in available ways. Other employees may not be living in the same region. If employees move or leave for extended amounts of time, they are able to travel as needed.

Employees who like traveling or flexibility better, these employees can demand, find, and keep jobs that accommodate their desires. According to a survey conducted by Owl Labs, 59% of employee respondents would be more likely to choose one employer over another in their next job if they offered remote work.10

For employees in the HR field, giving skilled employees flexibility can entice employees to stay. Additionally, being satisfied in their jobs will allow employees to perform better in their current roles and fight to gain the type of career they want. The charts listed below display Owl Labs’s respondent willingness to trade salary cuts for additional flexibility working from home some of the time. The results show that for many individuals, company flexibility is becoming a higher priority than pay. 10

 

Figure 2

 

Meetings

 

Meetings in the corporate world have been historically dominated by large conference rooms, auditoriums, or private offices. With the introduction of Zoom, these meetings have started to transition online. Employees need to be able to navigate these changes.

 

Meeting Purposes

When corporate businesses were shut down by COVID-19, not only were regular team meetings held online, but job interviews began to be conducted online as well. Many company meetings serve the informal purpose of introducing colleagues to one another for networking purposes. HubSpot states, “Eighty-five percent of jobs are filled through networking.” HubSpot also reports that 72% of people say their impressions are impacted by how someone appears and their handshake.11

 

Employee Recommendation

With fewer in-person interactions, adapting companies must find new ways to foster positive meeting experiences. While videoconferencing does allow individuals in the hiring sphere to see someone’s physical appearance on video, the handshake aspect is still missing.

On Zoom calls, our hands tend to disappear beneath the table; however, hand gestures and body animation have led to increased audience attention and can lead to additional excitement being shown. Using gestures can provide context for the listeners if the audio breaks up. Humans typically use beat gestures to emphasize certain syllables and aid in hearing. If an individual’s hands remain under a table, the viewers do not use these beat gestures to help with understanding.12 When the audience does not understand the message, credibility is lost.

As TechRepublic states, gestures can also be demonstrative of leadership. Posturing and gesturing deliver an “air of authority” to meeting participants.13 Forbes recommends staying relaxed, gesturing with open hands, and keeping movements small and slow within the computer screen.14 These movements demonstrate an inclusive, empathetic, and honest appearance for aspiring leaders.

 

Conclusion

 

Making incremental, intentional changes can increase employee satisfaction, and help employees and executives develop the workplace they want without necessarily working in a designated location.

Students can use these outlined methods to gain professionalism and move upwards in a company to be respected and promoted. For businesses to excel, they cannot just remain in their comfort zones. Zoom was pushed forcefully out of the bounds of its historical success and has grown to be incredibly prosperous. For employees to excel, they need to try new things that may at first seem unnatural, but over time, that sense of discomfort may lead to incredible growth down the road.

As with anything in the business world, there is a negative, passive, and active way to engage with behaviors. As the COVID-19 pandemic—and other negative world experiences—continues to exist, videoconferencing platforms will be a highly relevant tool in company spheres. While participation in these platforms may not be optional, individual employees’ actions are optional. Finding ways to flourish through any circumstances will be the key to success for all employees in a business. Communication—coupled with other soft skills—is very important. So, hurry up, and race to embrace Zoom!

 

Notes

  1. Brian Dean. “Zoom User Stats: How Many People Use Zoom in 2021?” Backlinko. Backlinko LLC, March 27, 2023. https://backlinko.com/zoom-users.
  2. Carol Kinsey Gorman. “Body Language Hacks To Project Leadership Presence On Zoom.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, May 3, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2020/05/03/body-language-hacks-to project-leadership-presence-on-zoom/?sh=260d362d4833.
  3. “It’s Time to Reimagine Where and How Work Will Get Done.” PwC. PricewaterhouseCoopers, January 12, 2021. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/library/covid-19/us-remote-work-survey.html.
  4. Jay Robb. “We all Need to Lighten Up at Work.” 2021. The Spectator, Feb 27, 2021. http://erl.lib.byu.edu/login/?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/we-all-need-lighten-up-atwork/docview/2493791479/se-2?accountid=4488.
  5. Amy Heine. “10 Reasons Why Soft Skills Are Important to Employers.” Indeed Career Guide. Indeed, July 24, 2021. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/why-are-soft-skills-important.
  6. Angela Colon-Mahoney. “Can Zoom Support Business Humor?” 2021. Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Mar 09, 2021. http://erl.lib.byu.edu/login/?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/can-zoom- support-business-humor/docview/2501185105/se-2?accountid=4488.
  7. Mark É. Czeisler, Rashon I. Lane, Emiko Petrosky, Joshua F. Wiley, Aleta Christensen, Rashid Njai, Matthew D. Weaver, et al. “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation during the COVID-19 Pandemic – United States, June 24–30, 2020.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 14, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm.
  8. Stewart Black. “Laughter Will Keep Your Team Connected — Even While You’re Apart.” Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing, May 27, 2020. https://hbr.org/2020/05/laughter-will-keep-your-team-connected-even-while-youre-apart.
  9. Hannah LaClaire. 2021. “Companies Navigating Return to Office Amid Hesitancies Calling it ‘an Experiment,’ Maine Employers Grapple to Establish Flexible Workplaces Committed to Adaptation and Ongoing Remote Options.” Portland Press Herald, Jul 25. http://erl.lib.byu.edu/login/?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/companies- navigating-return-office-amid/docview/2554637861/se-2?accountid=4488.
  10. State of Remote Work 2020. Owl Labs. Accessed December 5, 2021. https://resources.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2020.
  11. Aja Frost. “Face-to-Face Meetings: The Ultimate Guide.” HubSpot Blog. HubSpot, June 11, 2021. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/face-to-face-meetings.
  12. Nick Morgan. “The One Thing That Will Help You Communicate Better on Zoom.” Psychology Today. Psychology Today, March 2, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/communications-that-matter/202103/the-one-thing-that-will-help-you-communicate-better-on-zoom.
  13. Dallon Adams. “Virtual Meeting 101: Body Language Tips for Zoom, Teams, and Life.” TechRepublic. TechRepublic, July 10, 2020. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/virtual-meeting-101-body-language-tips-for-zoom-teams-and-life/.
  14. Carol Kinsey Goman. “Body Language Hacks To Project Leadership Presence On Zoom.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, May 3, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2020/05/03/body-language-hacks-to-project-leadership-presence-on-zoom/?sh=20f29e834833.
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