Video calling is bad for creativity, says Zoom chief

Zoom became a byword for working from home during the pandemic, as millions of people were forced to turn to the video conferencing app to get things done.

Yet even the company’s own chief executive admits this way of working has its limits.

Eric Yuan has told staff that working solely through video calls is bad for creativity as he tries to chivvy workers back to the office.

“Quite often, you come up with great ideas, but when we are all on Zoom, it’s really hard. We cannot have a great conversation. We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call,” the 53-year-old chief executive told employees during an all-company meeting earlier this month.

The comments, which were first reported by the website Business Insider, threaten to become the video conferencing service’s very own “Ratner moment”.

British businessman Gerald Ratner became synonymous with chief executives talking down their own products after describing the jewellery sold by his business as “total crap”.

In a speech in 1991, Mr Ratner said: “People say, ‘How can you sell this for such a low price?’ I say, because it’s total crap.”

He added that the products sold by Ratners jewellery were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long”.

While he subsequently insisted he was joking, the ill-judged comments were blamed for a sharp downturn in performance.

Ratners jewellery lost £122m the year after the remarks, with the company admitting the “adverse publicity” from the incident contributed to the poor performance.

Other chiefs who have insulted their own products include Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula One chief executive, who called new hybrid petrol-electric engines being introduced in 2015 “crap” and David Shepherd, former brand director of Topman, who said in 2001 that his chain’s clothing was for “hooligans”.

Mr Yuan’s comments about creativity come as Zoom tries to convince staff to come back to the office. Earlier this month the California-headquartered company told employees they should come to the office at least two days a week.

“Over the past several years, we’ve hired so many new ‘Zoomies’ that it’s really hard to build trust,” Mr Yuan told staff earlier this month in newly public remarks. “We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call.”

Businesses around the world have been ordering staff back to the office, with several chief executives complaining that remote work makes companies stale.

Disney chief Bob Iger said in January: “In a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”

Mr Yuan founded Zoom in 2011 and oversaw explosive growth at the company during the pandemic.

Its market value rose sevenfold to $140bn (£110bn) in late 2020 as millions of people signed up to the product and Mr Yuan was named Time’s Business Person of the Year.

However, the company’s share price has crashed 85pc since then after the end of lockdown restrictions saw video calling falling out of favour.

The company went on a hiring spree during the pandemic, tripling its headcount, but was forced to make 1,300 workers redundant in February as use of its product dwindled.

Zoom was approached for comment.