This year at SAMIBC2021 we are pleased to announce another of our presenters, Roger Finnegan from Metropolitan State University. Dr. Finnegan will be presenting, Fear of the Zoom Camera.
Presentation Abstract: As the COVID virus spread throughout the world many companies moved to having their employees work remotely. This remote work necessitated the need to have meetings over the Internet using applications such as Zoom. These applications allow for synchronous remote meetings and provide the ability for participants to use a camera to show their faces. The research question that was explored is how do employees feel about being seen on camera. A poll with 389 participants was conducted. Most respondents do not turn their cameras on unless they feel that they need to be part of the conversation. Almost a quarter will never turn it on. Even though it does offer the opportunity to have a form of facial contact the Zoom camera is not capable of communicating non-verbal messages. Employees on Zoom calls are feeling pressure to look professional in front of the camera and that is adding pressure in an already difficult situation. Many employees are not comfortable with being seen on camera and would like to hide behind the screen. Remote work could continue and become a permanent feature in organizations. Further research should be done to understand how online meetings impact the psychological health of workers.
Join us online to see this great paper and many more March 18 – 20, 2021. For registration information visit www.samnational.org/conference.