[Gigachad]

Because video off meetings are entirely pointless and just shouldn't be run. Not to say that turning video on magically makes the meetings have point, but if you are muted, video off, and doing the dishes, you just shouldn't be in that call.

Requiring video on probably makes people push back against being invited to useless meetings rather than seeing it as an hour to clean the house.

[BigJono]

People that schedule meetings like that don't want pushback. They're not trying to optimise the list of people in the meeting, they're trying to grow it at the expense of everything else.

They genuinely believe that whatever they're crapping on about to a brick wall for 2 hours straight is the most important thing in the universe and they want your undivided attention, productivity or profit be damned. That's why they force people to turn their cameras on.

[decafninja]

Because many meetings that involve many people are entirely pointless for the majority invited, period, regardless of format.

Many of the people for whom the meeting is pointless are usually in no position to push back on it.

[flappyeagle]

Just don’t go

[peristls]

You don't always have an option and when you do there are consequences. It cost me my grades in high school (during the lockdown, in an European country) because I was adamant on not wanting to show myself on camera. The same thing happened when looking for a job. I'd rather face the consequences rather than give in.

[flappyeagle]

You always have an option. Negotiate. Use your agency as a human being.

[decafninja]

Sometimes it’s worth taking a stand. Other times it’s not. Standing up to people in power organizing pointless meetings is one of the latter cases.

If in person, just zone out. If on Zoom and allowed, turn off camera and vacuum the carpet.

[thunky]

> you just shouldn't be in that call

Exactly. But most of the time you don't have a choice.

So may as well do dishes.

[flappyeagle]

Just don’t go. You have a choice. You are a sentient human being.

[thunky]

Oh...why am I even doing anything at all at my job? I could just refuse to work and get paid anyway? With no consequences?

Wow all this time like a sucker I've been doing what my boss asked me to do.

[flappyeagle]

You are allowed to negotiate with your boss. You have agency.

This includes whether to attend a meeting, hours that you work, and other things that you might currently conceive of as obligations.

At the end of the day your boss only cares about looking good to their boss. If you can help them do that anything else is just a detail

[thunky]

I agree, but most (not all) don't have the leverage needed to get what they want. The boss thinks that dumb meeting makes them look good, so why would they want to let anyone opt out? Let one do it and the rest will follow, they figure.

So really, the options are typically 1) deal with it 2) quit.

[Gigachad]

As an individual you may as well do dishes, but as a company you should believe that your meetings are actually important, and if they are, everyone should be present and video on. At least that way there will be pushback against useless meetings.

[thunky]

If I attend a meeting every day while I'm doing the dishes and my employer can't tell, then my employer has already failed your test.

There is no point in pushing back in this case. They just don't care about running an effective meeting.