Zoom In… or Out? When Face-to-Face Meetings Matter Most
In this thought-provoking discussion, Jonathan Levav, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business, delves into the impact of remote work on creativity and collaboration.
He elucidates how video conferencing platforms like Zoom, though instrumental during the pandemic, are not an absolute substitute for face-to-face communication.
Deciding Between Zoom vs In-person Meetings
While creativity-based tasks seem better suited for face-to-face interaction, other factors would need consideration to decide when remote work is feasible or beneficial.
Managers must evaluate task requirements and match them with suitable work environments.
Zoom Meetings and Decision-making
Groups working on Zoom performed slightly better at decision-making tasks than at creative idea generation tasks.
This is because decision-making requires analytical thinking and focus rather than expansive thinking required in creative idea generation.
Relearning Leadership Norms
Leaders need to relearn leadership norms for a hybrid or remote environment considering the cultural elements critical for their organization’s functioning pre-pandemic era.
