Lighter Side: Thought it was just a bad connection? Think again.

We all know managing a remote workforce can be a nightmare and keeping employees engaged is an everyday struggle. Now, one new survey has revealed just how difficult that daily task is after asking workers to share the strangest places they’ve ever answered a conference call from. 

Employees admitted to answering calls from:

• A truck stop restroom
• A McDonalds play area
• The beach
• Disney World
• Behind a church during a wedding rehearsal
• The racetrack
• The closet of a friend’s house during a party
• On the street, while chasing a dog

The survey, commissioned by conference solutions provider InterCall, surveyed 500 professionals to not only find out the most peculiar places they’ve ever picked up but to find out what else they’re dong while they’re supposed to be listening.

Here are the top ten things employees do while listening (or pretending to at least):

1. Doing other work – 65 per cent
2. Sending emails – 63 per cent
3. Eating or making food – 55 per cent
4. Going to the restroom – 47 per cent
5. Texting – 44 per cent
6. Checking social media – 43 per cent
7. Playing video games – 25 per cent
8. Shopping online – 21 per cent
9. Exercising – 9 per cent
10. Taking another phone call – 6 per cent.

We’re not quite sure whether we’d be annoyed or oddly impressed to discover our employees were multitasking to this extent. Taking a conference call and exercising seems like a near impossible feat to us…

Somewhat more alarmingly was the following:

• 39 per cent of respondents said they dropped out of a call without announcing it
• 27 per cent admitted to falling asleep during a call
• 5 per cent said they’d had a friend take the call in their place

Have you ever taken a conference call from an unusual location? Let us know…