1 in 4 admit to drifting off during video calls

As video calls remain a permanent fixture in working lives thanks to the shift to regular remote working, the likelihood of making a blunder on a video platform is more possible.

For some employees, this includes falling asleep during a video call or virtual event.

In fact, one in four (24%) people have admitted to doing so, according to recent research from EventsX.

In a poll of over 500 business decision makers and event attendees, the figure of individuals who have fallen asleep during an online event increased to 34% among those aged between 18 and 34.

25% admitted to drinking alcohol too when they shouldn’t have while on a video call, which rose to a third among 18 to 34-year-olds. However, this figure dropped to 10% for those aged over 55.

It seems employees are also partial to partaking in non-work-related tasks too during scheduled work hours, as 36% agreed that they have played games on their computer during a call or virtual event that they found boring.

This number rose to almost half among 18 to 24-year-olds.

There are a number of other distractions employees face too, such as answering the door for a delivery (49%), meanwhile over half (57%) said that someone in their household had spoken to them which meant they had to mute a call to respond.

Shoaib Aslam, founder of EventsX, said: “While falling asleep and consuming alcohol may have a humorous side, online events do present many benefits in our work from anywhere.”

Power naps and TV

Separate research by Sky Broadband revealed a number of other mishaps that have occurred while employees have been on virtual calls.

For example, 28% of workers have been told that they’re “on mute”, with just under a quarter sharing they have been interrupted by an unexpected delivery.

One in eight stated that they had sent a message or email to the wrong person and seven percent claimed that they had witnessed a colleague burp or break wind on a call.

The same data found that staff members are also indulging in several perks while working from home, which is distracting them from their role.

A study of 1,500 UK workers found that they drink up to 10 cups of tea or coffee a day, enjoy 13 snacks and watch four episodes of TV in the background or during breaks.

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