How do you keep up the professional atmosphere of the office while working from home[1]? And does your background have any bearing of what people perceive you during the call?
The team at Salt Lake City, UT-based Signs surveyed 1507 people[2] who participate in video calls for work on a monthly basis, or more frequently. It wanted to understand about video call backgrounds and video call behavior.
Also: Zoom alternatives: Best video conferencing software for business[3]
The survey displayed two different models in front of six different backgrounds: plants, art, bookshelf, window/natural light, candles or a blank wall.
The survey showed that every background tested ended up rating higher for making the model seem more intelligent, trustworthy, approachable, and professional. However, models in front of the bookshelf were rated as less approachable than models in front of the blank wall.
People were most likely to say that a person looked intelligent (4.07), trustworthy (3.92), and approachable (3.89) if they were seated in front of plants on their video call
People were most likely to say that a person looked professional (3.75) if they were seated in front of a bookshelf. They were also least likely to say that they looked approachable (3.67).
People were most likely to say a person looked trustworthy (3.34) and approachable (3.82) if they were seated in front of candles than nothing at all, but they were less likely to say they looked professional compared to most other backgrounds.
Two out of five staged their backgrounds before taking a work video call. Three out of four (71%) would adjust the lighting and almost two out of three (63%) would clean or tidy up the space. Only one out