Working from home is not what it used to be. Office closures in response to the global coronavirus outbreak caused a shift to remote work for millions within the workforce. Now, many of us live where we work and work where we live. The notions of privacy and boundaries have shifted greatly in the past year. We see our colleagues in their kitchens and dens, with their kids and pets, and watch them juggle homework, deliveries and household duties.

We can all appreciate the benefits of mobility—working from anywhere has been more productive for most teams and companies—but it has made it harder to unplug. This blending of the work day into personal time has become an issue for many; balance is hard when the office is in the living room or another common room at home.

81% of those who work from home use video calling or online conferencing platforms to keep in touch with colleagues. - Pew Research

Privacy.

In the wake of the significant increase in video calls and online meetings, it’s time to think about privacy differently. Spaces that were once private are now on public view—our beds, backyards and recreation rooms are the background of our important meetings and presentations. We should be mindful of our surroundings and ensure that we’re not showing things that are too personal.

This can change with the audience—for example, internal meetings with our coworkers might be more informal, and a video background with pets or clutter might be fine; whereas if we are meeting with an important client or the board, we might want to ensure that there are no surprises or visual distractions taking place behind us on camera. If we are in public areas, we should consider our surroundings: someone in a coffee shop or workshare space, or even a roommate, might not want to be featured as the background entertainment during your team call.

However you handle this aspect of collaboration, keep in mind the privacy of yourself and others in your surroundings and the expectations of your audience. Whatever you decide, whether it is a virtual background or more controlled physical space, come up with a plan and be consistent. Establishing norms for your team and/or company can optimize your video meeting experiences and take the guesswork out of prepping for your video calls.

Build bonds.

Video meetings help teams across regions and geographies connect and work together as if they are in the same room. This moves projects along faster and enables teams to have concise discussions in a consistent manner. Video is the best way to build rapport in the absence of in-person interactions. We can see facial expressions in real-time and sense body language, which helps us gather more context from our conversations and build ties with our colleagues and teams.

A video call culture fosters open communication because we are able to contextualize our coworkers and their ideas, and there is no need to guess as to whether we are understood and/or understanding our colleagues' perspectives. Streaming video meetings helps build bonds with a larger audience, whether it is with the entire team or even the entire company. Making features like chat, recording, and video meetings transcriptions accessible to everyone creates a record of a team’s activities and planning processes. Video meetings bring us together to become more cohesive and efficient teams.

Virtual meeting backgrounds.

An important component of how we conduct meetings is the background environment. Incorporating virtual backgrounds like an inspiring Redwood forest or a custom creative template online enhances meeting engagement while maintaining participant focus on key discussion points. If a meeting participant—especially the person leading the meeting or speaking most often—has an active background, other participants can be distracted to the point of missing the goal of the meeting. If there are people, pets, or clutter in view, participants could use a virtual background to replace the physical environment behind them with their favorite image—it could be the beach, the Eiffel tower or even a Redwood forest. A virtual background shows personality, highlights specific information, or even displays team values. A blur background effect serves a similar purpose as a virtual background, but “conceals” the background displayed during the meeting. Both types of backgrounds help with privacy and allow video meeting participants to focus on content instead of any environmental distractions. More focused meetings means more productive teams and better connected companies.

Gif: Changing virtual backgrounds in video meetings

8x8 Meet

8x8 Work supports businesses of all sizes, connecting teams around the globe. Our video conferencing solution allows participants to manage quality, engaging meetings that drive high-functioning teams to meet company goals. 8x8 video conferencing supports virtual backgrounds in browser-based meetings and within the 8x8 Work app. With one application, your teams can securely access critical communications—voice, video and chat—from anywhere on any device.

Discover what 8x8 Meet can do for your teams.