Were now years into this great experiment in remote work.
It started off as aZoom, but now it feels more like a plod.
Face-muting is ok
Communicating remotelyisnt new.
For ages, we corresponded by mail.
Then we added telegraphs, which increased the speed of communication.
Then came telephones, which allowed us to communicate beyond cables.
Fax, email, instant messagethe communication options continued to grow.
We didnt see each others faces, yet business still thrived.
Video calls are great for a lot of things, likescreen sharingand picking up on non-verbal cues.
But it doesnt mean we always have to stare each other in the face.
Because, lets be honest, its exhausting.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
We all knowits ok to mute.
When you dont have your game face on.
Were not camera-ready 100% of the time.
While time-shifting to accommodate time zones, Ive popped into 5 a.m. meetings.
And theres one more big one: face-mute whenever you feel like it.
I concede that meetings are sometimes (I repeatsometimes!)
necessary, but you could decrease the burden of being camera-on all the time.
This article by Michelle S. was first published on the Zapier blog.
Find the original posthere.
