There is no doubt that hybrid working has brought many benefits for workers, not least helping with that all-important work-life balance. But some workers are struggling to separate the personal from the professional, according to new research from Showpad, the global leader in sales enablement technology, as part of its international State of Selling study.

The research found that three quarters of office workers in the UK (76%) admit to turning off their webcam on video calls to hide what they are doing. The figure for workers under 24 rises to 85%.

Concentration on video calls when working from home appears to be a real issue – 80% say they are more easily distracted in virtual meetings compared to real-world ones, with over half (52%) saying they have an attention span of less than half an hour in virtual meetings.

What do workers get up to behind the blank screen?

Many find it hard not to be distracted by technology or gastronomy. Over half (57%) admit to turning off their screens so they can play on their phones, with 43% specifically highlighting ‘looking at social media.’ Meanwhile 48% admit to leaving the room to make food or get a drink.

However, others are certainly stretching the boundaries of what is acceptable. More than one in seven (15%) admit to smoking or vaping during business meetings. Furthermore, nearly one in eight (12%) say they have slept during a work meeting and 7% admit to secretly consuming alcohol during virtual meetings.

In some cases, issues arise because workers didn’t hit the mute or blank screen button. One in five (19%) admit to forgetting they were on camera and doing something embarrassing, whilst 16% say they forgot to press mute and said something insulting or awkward about someone else on the call.

What are the consequences?

The research found that there are real consequences to all of this – both personally and for the business. One in 25 office workers (4%) say that they have even lost their job as a result of something which happened whilst they were on a video call.

It also appears to be leading to lower standards in the office – three quarters (74%) believe that etiquette in in-person meetings has become worse as a result of the increase in video calls since the pandemic. The key ways in which people believe in-person meetings have been impacted are:

• Staff look at their phones more frequently in meetings (51%)
•  Staff are not as well presented (47%)
• Staff pay less attention (43%)
• Presenting skills are poorer (33%)
• Staff do not respect working hours (30%)
• Staff are late to meetings (24%)
• Staff just leave meetings without excusing themselves (19%)

Hybrid here to stay?

Given all of this, one may imagine that a lot of employers would be keen to get workers back into the office where they can keep an eye on their behavior. However, employees may be the ones holding the cards. The research found that over half of office workers (53%) wouldn’t even apply for a job that did not include the option to work from home/hybrid working. This suggests that employers that are not open to continuing to offer working from home could be choosing from a much smaller pool of talent.

Kelli Koschmann, Chief People Officer, Showpad said: “While the results provide fascinating insight into what some Brits get up to when they switch the webcam off during calls, the research raises serious points about how to engage those to whom you are speaking on a video call and what we can do to improve the quality of those interactions.

“Many of us will have been in a situation where we are presenting or selling to someone and then we suddenly see their camera go off, raising doubts about whether the person at the other end of the computer is still listening, or even there. Whilst there is no magic bullet, technology can help. Asynchronous communication, for example, through an engaging medium like video messaging, allows employees to communicate effectively and efficiently, both within a business and across businesses, whenever and wherever works best for them.”

More information and outtakes from the State of Selling Report can be found on Showpad’s website.