[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.