Video calls make us less creative — but that’s no reason for your boss to force you back to the office
Researchers suggest turning off video may boost collective intelligence
Telling Mike to unmute himself is here to stay, “but there’s a tension”
These findingsback up the concerns laid out by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky when he announcedits new hybrid WFH policylast week.
Credit:Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky on Twitter
His solution? Quarterly in-person meetings.
Chesky isn’t the only founder making a post-pandemic move to a hybrid WFH policy.
Asurvey conducted by Harvard Business Reviewin August 2021 said 75% of US employees reported “a personal preference for working remotely at least one day per week.” A research paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research — entitledWhy Working from Home Will Stick— affirms HBR’s predictions, with an estimate that “20% of US work days will take place at home, after the pandemic ends.”
Nobody is saying you have to go back to the office
Video conferencing may make creativity more challenging, but, on the other hand, it appears to make prioritization and project management easier.
As the science says: “when it comes to selecting which idea to pursue, we find no evidence that video conferencing groups are less effective (and preliminary evidence that they may be more effective) than in-person groups.”
Unfortunately though, this isn’t universally agreed upon.
Anotherstudy conducted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Maria Tomprou et al.in March of 2021, however, suggested that videoconferencing not only hampers creativity, but “reduces collective intelligence”. Yikes.
Turning off our cameras may make us smarter and more creative in meetings
The Carnegie studysuggests that the central blocker to collective intelligence and productivity in virtual communication is video access.
Their reasoning? “Teams without visual cues are more successful in synchronizing their vocal cues and speaking turns, and when they do so, they have higher CI.”
CI, or, collective intelligence, is defined here as the ability of a group of humans to work together to solve problems.
Contrary to popular opinion on the value of video in enhancing remote relationships and collaboration, Carnegie Mellon’s researchersproposethat limiting time spent with your video turned on may lead to more equal and collaborative communication — as well as improved problem solving capabilities — likely because without video, there are fewer visual stimuli and less distractions.
Story byNatasha Nel
Natasha Nel is a journalist at the The Next Web, based in Amsterdam, covering technology, startups, growth, strategy, and careers.Natasha Nel is a journalist at the The Next Web, based in Amsterdam, covering technology, startups, growth, strategy, and careers.
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