- Office Etiquette
- Office Etiquette
- Dating A Coworker
- April Fools Pranks For Work
- How To Be A Good Employee
- Pet Peeves List
- How To Write A Project Proposal
- Qualities Of A Good Worker
- How To Get Along With Your Boss
- What Engaged Employees Do Differently
- What To Say Instead Of Sorry
- How To Send A Friendly Reminder Email
- How To End A Conversation
- Sorry For The Delay
- Tattoos In The Workplace
- Sorry For The Late Reply
- How To Respond To A Compliment
- New Employee
- How To Introduce Yourself Professionally
- Welcome New Employee Announcement
- Welcome Letter
- Thank You Note To Colleague
- 30/60/90 Plan
- Getting To Know You Questions
- Job Satisfaction
- Team Building Activities
- At Will Employment
- Company Culture
- Corporate Culture
- How To Succeed At Your New Remote Job
- How To Prepare For New Job Orientation
- How To Create An Employee Handbook
- Hostile Work Environment
- Hostile Work Environment
- How To Deal With A Difficult Coworker
- What Is Human Resource Development (HRD)?
- I Hate My Job
- Burnt Out At Work
- Condescending Coworker
- Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
- Work Environment
- My Job Sucks
- Favoritism At Work
- Respect In The Workplace
- Wagner Act
- Documentation In The Workplace
- Unconscious Bias
- Ageism
- What To Do When You Feel Unappreciated At Work
- How To Respond To A Warning At Work
- How To Deal With A Passive Aggressive Coworker
- What To Do When You're Unhappy At Work
- I Hate My Boss
- Gaslighting Boss
- Signs You're Underpaid
- Insubordination At Work
- Missing Work
- Communicating
- Send Retirement Wishes
- Write A Congratulations Email
- Professional Voicemail Greeting Examples
- Made A Mistake At Work
- Google Tricks
- Appeal Letter
- Employee Morale
- How To Write A Professional Email
- Out Of Office Message
- Small Group Icebreakers
- Memo Format
- Memo Examples
- Cell Phone At Work
- Meeting Minutes
- Communication Barriers
- How To Take Notes
- How To Brainstorm
- Ask For A Mental Health Day
- Transfer Request Letter And Email Examples
- How To Write A Business Proposal
- How To Deal With A Lazy Coworker
- How To Write A Rejection Letter
- How To Say No
- Scheduling
- Personal Goals
Find a Job You Really Want In
Survey Summary. Social distancing has more workers dialing in from home, trying to focus with all the distractions and temptations of home. Other workers are struggling with technical issues. Some are stuck putting up with their coworkers’ tech issues and sick of saying, “Can you mute yourself?” for the one thousandth time.
With that in mind, Zippia surveyed 2,000 American workers to find out how workers are coping. Here are the key findings of what workers are actually doing during Zoom meetings:
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67% of workers are distracted during virtual meetings.
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47% of people prefer in person meetings.
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55% of workers admit to checking emails during virtual meetings.
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What annoys workers most about meetings? Unnecessary meetings.
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After meetings that could have been emails, workers are most frustrated by loud background noises, late starts, and technical difficulties.
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Most states (a whopping 20!) are most likely to be checking their emails during meetings.
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12 states say they are multitasking and doing other work during meetings- which may be the “I’m too hard of a worker” answer to this questions.
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50% of workers have 1-3 hours of meetings a week– which, is too bad for the 20% of workers who find meetings a waste of time.
What People Do During Virtual Meetings
Overall, most people are just trying to do their jobs more efficiently- answering emails and multi-tasking to get things done. However, it is no surprise that workers are tempted to send a quick text or take advantage of their proximity to the kitchen to grab a snack.
Over 15% of people are bold enough to do household chores during that Zoom meeting. Hope the sound is off, or colleagues might hear the beautiful music of the dishwasher being loaded. Another 9% are interrupted from their meeting by childcare. I guess their crying kid doesn’t care about quarterly profits.
Curious about the others? So, were we, luckily our survey respondents were happy to enlighten us.
Other common things people are doing during meetings:
- Being frustrated/annoyed/unhappy with coworkers
- Pet care
- Personal grooming
- Walk around/Pace
- Laying in bed
- Watching tv
- Sleeping
- Using the bathroom
We left off some great uncommon (but hilarious) answers such as applying for a new job, attending a virtual birthday party, and going on a jog.
What Is Annoying Everyone So Much?
Frustration and annoyance was a common response- and common meeting distraction. When asked what was the most annoying part of virtual meetings, workers common replies were “unnecessary meetings”, “late starts”, “loud background noises”, and “technical difficulties.”
Many workers (20%) say their work meetings are rarely productive (evidenced by the amount of workers who use meeting minutes to answer emails or do other work). So it is not a surprise so many workers dislike meetings themselves- or anything that prolongs the meeting or wastes more time.
Most Common Work Distractions By State
State | What They Do During Meetings |
---|---|
Alabama | Checking emails |
Alaska | Checking emails |
Arizona | Texting |
Arkansas | Texting |
California | Checking emails |
Colorado | Multitasking |
Connecticut | Texting |
Delaware | Multitasking |
Florida | Checking emails |
Georgia | Checking emails |
Hawaii | Texting |
Idaho | Snack |
Illinois | Checking emails |
Indiana | Multitasking |
Iowa | Checking emails |
Kansas | Texting |
Kentucky | Multitasking |
Louisiana | Multitasking |
Maine | Surf the internet |
Maryland | Texting |
Massachusetts | Texting |
Michigan | Snack |
Minnesota | Checking emails |
Mississippi | Checking emails |
Missouri | Texting |
Montana | Snack |
Nebraska | Multitasking |
Nevada | Multitasking |
New Hampshire | Multitasking |
New Jersey | Checking emails |
New Mexico | Checking emails |
New York | Checking emails |
North Carolina | Checking emails |
Ohio | Checking emails |
Oklahoma | Multitasking |
Oregon | Checking emails |
Pennsylvania | Checking emails |
Rhode Island | Snack |
South Carolina | Checking emails |
South Dakota | Texting |
Tennessee | Checking emails |
Texas | Checking emails |
Utah | Multitasking |
Vermont | Snack |
Virginia | Checking emails |
Washington | Multitasking |
West Virginia | Snack |
Wisconsin | Multitasking |
Wyoming | Texting |
Methodology
Zippia.com, a career resource website, conducted a study of 2,000 work from home workers across the U.S. on virtual meetings.
Each respondent was asked a series of questions about their feelings towards meetings and their behavior during them. North Dakota was excluded due to sample size.
Conclusion
Be careful, that camera or microphone may get you!
Virtual meetings can be tempting to zone out. While most people are just replying to emails or doing other work activities, some people are getting pretty comfy while working from home. From going to the bathroom, to getting dressed, and to outright napping– people are living their lives, hoping no one asks them a question during the meeting.
However, they should be careful! They are only one camera or mic snaffu from one very memorable and highly embarrassing meeting. Maybe they should just stick to texting? Or better yet, seeing if this meeting might actually be important.
For the bosses and meeting schedulers of the world out there, you can minimize distracted attendants by having a clear purpose and agenda for each meeting. Have the meeting start on time and end promptly. Better yet, make the most of the meeting time by having everyone come to the meeting with their tech in order.
Just think how many minutes of “Can you mute yourself?” you’ll save.
- Office Etiquette
- Office Etiquette
- Dating A Coworker
- April Fools Pranks For Work
- How To Be A Good Employee
- Pet Peeves List
- How To Write A Project Proposal
- Qualities Of A Good Worker
- How To Get Along With Your Boss
- What Engaged Employees Do Differently
- What To Say Instead Of Sorry
- How To Send A Friendly Reminder Email
- How To End A Conversation
- Sorry For The Delay
- Tattoos In The Workplace
- Sorry For The Late Reply
- How To Respond To A Compliment
- New Employee
- How To Introduce Yourself Professionally
- Welcome New Employee Announcement
- Welcome Letter
- Thank You Note To Colleague
- 30/60/90 Plan
- Getting To Know You Questions
- Job Satisfaction
- Team Building Activities
- At Will Employment
- Company Culture
- Corporate Culture
- How To Succeed At Your New Remote Job
- How To Prepare For New Job Orientation
- How To Create An Employee Handbook
- Hostile Work Environment
- Hostile Work Environment
- How To Deal With A Difficult Coworker
- What Is Human Resource Development (HRD)?
- I Hate My Job
- Burnt Out At Work
- Condescending Coworker
- Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
- Work Environment
- My Job Sucks
- Favoritism At Work
- Respect In The Workplace
- Wagner Act
- Documentation In The Workplace
- Unconscious Bias
- Ageism
- What To Do When You Feel Unappreciated At Work
- How To Respond To A Warning At Work
- How To Deal With A Passive Aggressive Coworker
- What To Do When You're Unhappy At Work
- I Hate My Boss
- Gaslighting Boss
- Signs You're Underpaid
- Insubordination At Work
- Missing Work
- Communicating
- Send Retirement Wishes
- Write A Congratulations Email
- Professional Voicemail Greeting Examples
- Made A Mistake At Work
- Google Tricks
- Appeal Letter
- Employee Morale
- How To Write A Professional Email
- Out Of Office Message
- Small Group Icebreakers
- Memo Format
- Memo Examples
- Cell Phone At Work
- Meeting Minutes
- Communication Barriers
- How To Take Notes
- How To Brainstorm
- Ask For A Mental Health Day
- Transfer Request Letter And Email Examples
- How To Write A Business Proposal
- How To Deal With A Lazy Coworker
- How To Write A Rejection Letter
- How To Say No
- Scheduling
- Personal Goals