I declined to turn my Zoom camera on at work, was I wrong?

[chineebai]

if you're the only one without the camera on then yeah just turn it on. If not and you feel as if he's specifically picking on you, then no. Next time, blame the internet.

 

[Chief]

Get fired because you are insecure about your hairline brehs

 

[Mordith]

Screen name don't match the story

Fixed for accuracy

 

[Tom Foolery]

Simple story short: on a last minute client zoom meeting.

performing well, giving great input. Mid-call, boss asks me to turn camera on and I joke it off, because im 2 weeks overdue for a cut. My hairline and beard look homeless status until my barber appointment this friday.

boss asks again, i lightly say i don’t feel my best presentation wise. He gets annoyed about this and after the call sends me an email stating so.

context: im the only breh, all my coworkers are 60+ YT ppl, They DON’T have a concept of a hairline or needing an edgeup etc they get haircuts once every 2-3 months and have no facial hair.

If I had a few days notice I would definitely arrange to be presentable for camera, but this was only setup 25 minutes prior.

Am I wrong for not wanting to show my James Evans minifro and homeless man beard on Zoom?

Unless there was a prior message saying you must be on camera, they got nothing.

All you have to say is I was not able to be on camera for personal reasons, had I been given more time I would have been ready.

 

[Raw Lyrics]

Screen name don't match the story

 

[Consigliere]

You shouldn’t be obligated to be on cam during zoom meetings.

 

[KingJay]

Screen name don't match the story

 

[Umoja]

Your boss was in the wrong and you'd do well to tell him that you don't appreciate getting put on the spot like that.

Only exception to the above is if there is an expectation that you turn on your camera during conference calls. If that expectation is not there, he could've saved face when you jokingly turned him down.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

You shouldn’t be obligated to be on cam during zoom meetings.

You shouldn't be, but you should always be on guard to just in case it's needed or if asked.

 

[humminbird]

OP made it a bigger deal than it had to be. He should have took a few meetings before the meeting to get himself together professional wise as you never know when you will have to jump on the camera mid meeting.

yeah we have to play this work from home game like a pro
they're looking for any excuse to send us back

 

[CopiousX]

Should have said you'd love to, but the internet connection is shaky and turning the camera on would probably lead to connection problems

The diplomacy in this response is astounding.



Would you be interested in a job as press secretary? You got the skill set. And i hear the white house is hiring.

 

[ApolloStark]

you shouldve just turned the shyt on
white people dont get the nuances of black male grooming and wouldnt have cared anyway

What this man said. The amount of times I've got a fresh trim and it doesn't even register for them

 

[Patrick Kane]

Should have said you'd love to, but the internet connection is shaky and turning the camera on would probably lead to connection problems

Stealing this

 

[Hopeofmypeople]

Why did he want the camera on? During this entire pandemic on zoom calls I have not turned on the camera once and have never been asked to. As long as I contribute in the meeting and am present seeing me isn’t necessary.

 

[igottabaldhead]

Why did he want the camera on? During this entire pandemic on zoom calls I have not turned on the camera once and have never been asked to. As long as I contribute in the meeting and am present seeing me isn’t necessary.

He said so the clients can feel more comfortable with each of us, said i was contributing verbally greatly, but they need to put a face to the words spoken.

it wasnt a big deal, he was just annoyed. I take my appearance seriously and am known for being clean and sharp.