Zoom-Call Slip-Ups Led To Employees Getting Fired, 1 In 4 Bosses Say

Some Zoom miscues, like New Yorker magazine writer Jeffrey Toobin getting fired for inadvertently exposing himself, have been well-publicized.

Zoom-call blunders can be hazardous to your career. Nearly 1 in 4 executives have fired a staffer for slipping up during a video or audio conference, and most have levied some sort of disciplinary action for gaffes made in virtual meetings, a survey of 200 managers at large companies found. The survey, commissioned by Vyopta Inc., which helps companies manage their workplace collaboration and communication systems, also found that executives don't fully trust a third of their staff to perform effectively when working remotely. The pessimistic findings illustrate how workers are still getting accustomed to working remotely, which has become commonplace during the Covid-19 pandemic. Daily participants in Zoom calls surged from 10 million a day at the end of 2019 to 300 million in April 2020, the conferencing company has said, and in recent weeks many companies have pushed back their plans to return to offices due to the delta variant's spread. Some Zoom miscues, like New Yorker magazine writer Jeffrey Toobin getting fired for inadvertently exposing himself, have been well-publicized.