As millions of home workers feel the effects of video call fatigue, slow internet connections have been named the biggest video call聽frustration聽by UK workers, according to new research.
Biggest Pet Peeves
The study, conducted by online smartphone retailer聽Mobiles.co.uk, surveyed聽UK adults聽to find their biggest screen time bugbear and聽nearly a third (30%) cited聽losing internet connection as the most annoying.
Interestingly,聽the theme of connectivity issues continues to be a聽gripe聽for聽screen time聽encounters, with 28% of people聽surveyed聽finding聽being on a call with someone else with a poor connection annoying,聽whilst a quarter of聽Brits聽(25%) admit their biggest frustration is people聽interrupting the speaker.
Video calls are now a key component of everyday life and a crucial aspect of our working day. However, things like losing connection mid-call or people interrupting the speaker can cause real annoyance.
The聽ten聽most annoying traits in video calls are:
1.聽聽聽聽聽聽Losing internet connection
2.聽聽聽聽聽聽People with poor internet connections
3.聽聽聽聽聽聽People interrupting the speaker
4.聽聽聽聽聽聽People joining late
5.聽聽聽聽聽聽Participants eating on calls whilst not muted
6.聽聽聽聽聽聽Having to remind people they鈥檙e on mute
7.聽聽聽聽聽聽People not putting their camera on
8.聽聽聽聽聽聽Someone looking away from the screen
9.聽聽聽聽聽聽Heavy breathing
10.聽聽聽Someone loudly typing on the keyboard
Patience is a Virtue
Being late is frowned upon in聽many walks of life,聽but聽men are聽seemingly聽less forgiving than women when it comes聽to聽tardiness on聽calls.聽More than a quarter聽(27%)聽of聽men,聽compared to just聽a fifth聽(20%)聽of聽women,聽highlighted聽lateness聽as聽a significant聽issue.
The younger generation are far less patient聽when it聽comes to certain etiquette on calls,聽nearly聽three times as many聽18鈥�24-year-olds聽resent people waving goodbye at the end of a call (17%) compared to just 6% of those over聽 65s.
This is amplified further with聽hearing聽people typing on keyboards loudly聽whilst on a call, with over four times聽as many young adults (23%) finding frustration in this聽compared to those aged over聽65聽(5%).
When it comes to using video calls for work,聽perhaps unsurprisingly,聽the recruitment and HR sector is the least forgiving with colleagues聽turning up late to virtual meetings, with 57% citing this as a pet peeve聽–聽more than 20% higher than any other industry. This sector also ranks highest when it comes to聽frustrations around聽having to聽deal with poor internet connection, with just under half (48%) flagging this as a significant issue.
Andrew Cartledge, mobile expert at Mobiles.co.uk,聽comments: 鈥淲ith聽many of聽us聽spending a聽lot of聽time working聽from home,聽we鈥檝e had to get used to a whole new way of interacting with people. Of course,聽there are some things that聽inevitably lead聽to gripes towards certain behaviours, so聽it鈥檚 really interesting to see which issues tick people off the most.
鈥淎lthough society is starting to open up聽again, many people will be at least working remotely in some capacity for a long time to come.聽Hopefully聽these findings and tips will ensure that people can maximise their聽use of video calls whilst avoiding any聽traits that may cause frustration聽to others.鈥�
