What really happens on conference calls...
Picture the scene: It’s been a long day, and the official work day is over. But you still have to do the daily conference call with your office in New York. After a while, your attention wanders from the conversation; and before long you are checking out the best beach vacations, chatting online to a friend, doing a little internet shopping, updating your Facebook page, while also snacking on a sandwich and keeping one eye on the latest sports news on the television.
You tell yourself you are multi-tasking, but in truth, you have tuned out of the conference call, and are now engaged in your other, non-work, pursuits.
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If you are guilty of any of the above, then you are not alone. Our recent Money Never Stops survey found that 72% of those polled in Australia are required to participate in conference calls as part of their jobs.
The Money Never Stops survey was conducted in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia in July, with 1738 finance workers from the Lion City taking part, 695 in Hong Kong, and 306 in Australia.
To view research as an infographic click here
Of the three regions surveyed, Australia’s finance workers appear to have the easiest deal in terms of after-hours conference calls, with only one third of the respondents having to take part outside normal working hours.
This is in sharp contrast with Singapore, which also reported that 72% of finance workers take part in conference calls. There, four out of every five participating in these calls said they do so outside of the normal working day. In Hong Kong, where 77% of finance workers do conference calls, less than half do them after hours.
Given the number of people having to work after hours on conference calls, it’s perhaps little wonder that across the region, more than half the respondents admitted to not giving every call their full attention.
And about one in five confessed to saying something inappropriate on a conference call when they thought the phone was on mute.
The most common activity while on a conference call, according to the research, was surfing the web. In Australia and Hong Kong, 60% of the respondents divulged that they are online during these calls, compared to one in two Singapore finance workers
Other common activities engaging more than a third of people on conference calls included eating and driving or commuting. Finance workers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia also said they would watch TV, drink alcohol, shop, and even lie in bed while on conference calls.
