I hate when people eat on Zoom calls

29,000+ page views later, an analysis on a LinkedIn Poll

That’s all that I said. A personal opinion on a peeve I admit is all me. When that thought was shared with a poll seeking others views on the subject on LinkedIn, the response and reaction bordered on overwhelming. First, the sheer numbers:

• 29,356 page views

• 701 votes for the poll

• 85 comments

• 36 reactions

That’s just the response. Here are the actual poll numbers with the question:

You could summarize this and say that 35 percent of the 701 who responded do not like it when people eat on video calls. Clearly, more people are unfazed by this—45 percent—and 19 percent consider more things egregious. Yet it was the comments that provided the most revealing parts of this exercise.

To really get a sense of the response, it’s necessary to read the initial post in addition to the poll. Here it is.

I hate when people eat on a video call

There, I said it. I feel better.

Not sure what it is about people eating on a video call that irks me so. It’s not like I haven’t been to an in-person meeting where people were eating. And I certainly was far closer to them than somebody on my computer screen. Under those circumstances, all the senses were in play.

Yet there’s something about people eating on camera and, in many cases, miked. Though I have to admit it’s not much better when muted. My mind imagines sounds then.

It reminds me of when I used to listen to talk radio and the host would complain about being hungry and openly solicit neighboring eateries to bring by food.

So, let’s get this straight. You’re on the air for four hours and you can’t plan to eat before that time? And you can’t go four hours of the day without eating?

It never made sense to me. And it doesn’t make sense why eating can’t take place before or after a call. Particularly calls that are only an hour or so.

How do you feel about this topic? Please feel free to share in the survey below. #zoompeeves

Now, the post does make clear this is my thing. No value judgments on anybody. Just something that hits me the wrong way with a bit of wonderment as to why. The responses provided much insight into what working during the pandemic has been like.

“I guess you don’t often have days where you’re in meetings all day long, back-to-back? Or days where, despite your best efforts to block off time for meals, get pulled into a meeting? Many days, I’m in meetings from 6am or 7am with colleagues/clients in the UK / Germany until 5pm or 6pm with colleagues/clients in the US. If I am meeting with someone that insists my video be on at all times in all meetings (which is the worst), then they’re likely going to see me eat at some point in the day, and if they don’t like it, tough.”

DISCLAIMER: I should have clarified that I’m a small business owner and can control my zoom calls. Many people who work for companies may not have that option.

Some comments, however, took it a step farther and got a little personal:

“What world do you live in where your lunch is a lunch break?”

“My initial thought is you should eat before or after. But todays world is much different. If someone is eating during my zoom, I might pause the meeting myself and grab some food to create a icebreaker moment and start off the meeting discussing what were eating. Overall; if your worried about someone eating as being disrespectful, I would be worried about your organization as a whole. If your more focused on my eating on camera instead of my skillset, that is the problem right there. If your mixing a meal with business, it might show dedication to time management and making every minute count. I really hope I get the chance to eat on a zoom call now!!!”

This comment struck me as a bit of a generational gap. You know where the older generation feels like you dress up for an interview and the younger opts to go casual since it’s what you can do that’s more important.

NOTE TO SELF: A really great poll question could be on misspellings and grammatical errors on comments longer than one sentence.

The responses also revealed a human side:

“I eat constantly ... or I migraine. True when I WFO or WFH or am OOO. So I eat. And it's fine. I'm done pretending I am tougher than I am. I am just this tough and no tougher.”

Some were honestly kind of funny. At least that’s how I took it:

“This has to be up there for Top 50 biggest first world problems”

“You're making me question my decision to do my toenails during meetings.”

Some did share my view:

“Treat Zoom like any other business meeting. You are cordial, but there for business. Not snacking, kibitzing, preening.”

“Sometimes I feel badly sipping my tea, like I am eating/drinking in front of the people I am zooming with,...but eating? No way, it's beyond rude. And can be comical to watch, all adding up to "don't do it"

Even in acknowledging my distaste for eating on camera—pun intended--there is no right answer. Everyone views it through a different lens—again, pun intended. Being able to conduct business by video meeting has kept millions of businesses in businesses and people employed. We can all agree on that. Right?

“Why do we have to be on video all day. What happened to plain old phone calls?”

Okay, most of us agree on that.