'Remaining silent in online meetings' bothers teleworkers in Japan the most: poll

Interesting read on a poll being done on what Japanese teleworkers are bothered with while teleworking, etc.


"Others who irked respondents included "people with noisy backgrounds," at 13% and "people who speak while someone else is speaking," at 8%. Following were "people whose typing sound is loud," "people whose computers often freeze" and "people who keep speaking without noticing their mics are muted," at 7% each."

When asked to pick the things that bothered them when using communication tools, 15% of them chose, "It takes time to handle emails," followed by, "I cannot write emails well" at 12% -- a sign that communicating in writing is a struggle for some people. The answer attracting the third most respondents, at 10%, was, "It is difficult to see other people's reactions in online meetings."


How about you? What things bother you while working from home?

My wife and I enjoy working from home (100% in her case, ~50-75% in mine). The fact of not having to commute outweighs any disadvantage. The most bothering issue is how to deal with two barking dogs when Kuroneko Yamato rings while you're on Zoom or Skype.

The only thing I miss is the background chatter/info I would get in the office to get a better feel of what is going on in terms of office politics, other projects, etc.
Other than that no issues. Since I'm often on the phone with Japan in the evenings, being able to roll out of bed and go to "work" or not having to rush home in time for dinner before my conf calls has been a huge plus. I get the occasional Internet connection hiccup but generally it's been pretty stable.

I agree with a lot of the poll respondents. Also, not being able to judge reactions as much and not having the other conversations that "just happen" when in the office. I have been in the office the whole time but have worked from home a few times and these are issues. Some of the chit-chat conversations do happen over chat but not as many and not as varied as would happen in person. I also prefer having a separation between home and work.