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Missing Children’s Network launches Missing Children’s Month

Laval News Contributor
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Missing Children’s Network launches Missing Children’s Month

The Missing Children’s Network officially launched Missing Children’s Month earlier this week with this year’s theme, “Forget-Me-Not“. The objective of this month is to raise awareness about the issue of missing and exploited children and to inform parents and educators on what they can do in order to better protect their children.

Last year, according to the RCMP’s 2020 Annual Report, law enforcement in Quebec registered 3,831 cases of missing children.

This is a significant decrease as compared to 5,805 cases in the previous year and can be attributed in part to the restrictions imposed by the government (school closures, confinement, curfew, non-essential travels) in response to the pandemic.

While the news is certainly encouraging, we can all concur that one missing child is already one too many. Following are some of the highlights of the Annual Report:

  • 60% of all cases involved females;
  • 72% were runaways;
  • 63% of missing children were found within 24 hours, while 92% were located within a week.

It is important to keep in mind that time is of the essence when a child disappears regardless of the circumstances:

  • When youth run away, their risk of being victimized greatly increases. The dangers may include sexual assault, violence, theft, substance abuse, homelessness, suicide and gang involvement.
  • While most parental child abductions are resolved, they remain traumatic events that can have lifelong effects on the children involved and the left-behind parent.
  • The abduction of a child by a stranger is rare (less than 1% of all cases) but is of little comfort to parents and the community.  We must remain aware that such dangers are a constant reality. 

A missing child’s best hope for a safe return depends on immediate, coordinated and focused action … a role that the Missing Children’s Network assumes with passion, determination and conviction since 1985.

During the entire month of May, the Missing Children’s Network will feature on its social media platforms heartfelt messages of hope by searching families, practical safety tips, inspiring interviews with key partners, long-term missing children cases and publish its annual poster featuring 12 unresolved missing children cases. As well, the organization will launch, Forget-Me-Not, an important awareness campaign aimed at ensuring that missing children are never forgotten.

About Missing Children’s Day

Missing Children’s Day was first recognized by former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, on May 25, 1983.  May 25th is the date that six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from a New York City street corner on his way to school.  Etan’s case remains one of thousands of unsolved missing children’s cases and this day serves as an annual reminder of our responsibilities to ensure the well-being and safety of our children. 

In 1986, the Solicitor General of Canada declared May 25th to be National Missing Children’s Day in Canada.  Today, this annual awareness day is international in scope with over 50 countries pausing on May 25th to honour its missing children.

Agape aims to open a satellite office in eastern Laval by 2024

Martin C. Barry
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Agape aims to open a satellite office in eastern Laval by 2024

But Chomedey will remain the social services provider’s home base

With a series of provincial government subsidies lined up, the Youth and Parents Agape Association has plans to open a satellite office, expanding services now available from its Chomedey headquarters to English-speaking people in the eastern half of Laval three years from now.

According to Agape executive-director Kevin McLeod, the CAQ government’s Secretariat for Relations with English-Speaking Quebecers awarded funding to several organizations, including Agape, over the next three years to improve services for senior citizens through seniors’ wellness centres.

A three-year plan

He said Agape will receive $45,000 in 2021-2022, $45,000 in 2022-2023 and $70,000 for 2023-2024. McLeod said Agape’s hope is to “open up a little centre in the eastern part of Laval” by the third year with help from the new funding.

“Right now, what the government wants us to do is focus on things like health presentations and wellness with seniors,” he added, describing the orientation the ministry appears to be interested in promoting for the time being.

Expansion in year three

He said that by year three, the plan would be for Agape to expand those services to the eastern part of Laval.

“The thing is that this covers a portion of our expenses in expanding,” he continued, noting that the sums won’t necessarily pay all the expansion’s expenses. “But expanding, we’re also able to do it thanks to other pockets of money. Because the new centre is also going to provide larger office space for Agape.”

Regarding the demographics of English-speaking people in eastern Laval, McLeod said, “We do see that there are strong pockets. We know that Chomedey has most of Laval’s English-speaking communities.

Anglos in eastern Laval

“But we do identify pockets here and there. And we’ve identified that maybe Duvernay on the borderline somewhere close to Vimont and Pont-Viau would be a good area to open up a satellite office.”

‘We’ve identified that maybe Duvernay on the borderline somewhere close to Vimont and Pont-Viau would be a good area to open up a satellite office,’ says Agape executive-director Kevin McLeod

McLeod said Agape’s base would continue to be in Chomedey, where the organization’s offices, distribution centre and children’s daycare are currently located in side-by-side storefronts on Notre Dame Blvd. near Curé Labelle Blvd. Agape’s English-speaking Senior Wellness Centre is located less than a block away, also on Notre Dame, just east of Curé Labelle.

“Our main base will always be in Chomedey because that’s where all the English speakers are,” he said. “What we’re looking at is a satellite office and possibly a senior wellness centre office. You know, one of those two. Whether those two will be in the same place we don’t know yet.”

Wellness Centre growing

In addition to these developments, management at Agape has also decided to relocate the Senior Wellness Centre to a larger suite of offices in the same building as where they are currently – 3860 Notre Dame – but on the second storey rather than the third.

According to McLeod, the new locale will be much larger (about 50 per cent of the area on their floor), and will include four offices, a resource room, a conference room, a large common area to stage presentations and activities for seniors, and a kitchen.

Busy with a short move

“We’re in the middle of moving right now, so we’ve temporarily suspended services for around a month,” he said. “But we’re hopeful that by June, seniors will have the opportunity to come and visit the new centre.

“And then after that, all depending where we are with COVID and the variants and public health instructions, we would like to be offering more activities by this summer whether that is online or in person. Who knows. We’re hopeful and keeping our fingers crossed that by September or October, we will be able to see people in person again. But we don’t know with the news changing daily.”

City bringing an end to unpopular parking method used for snow removal

Martin C. Barry
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City bringing an end to unpopular parking method used for snow removal

The City of Laval announced on Monday that beginning next winter, alternate-side street parking during the winter will become a thing of the past in Laval’s neighbourhoods.

A new policy being implemented by the city will involve resorting to alternate-side parking only when snow removal operations are underway.

Drop in alternate days

According to the city, the number of days where alternate-side parking will be required should drop to 36 per year from the previous 150 days annually. Under the previous system, residents were required to move their vehicles from one side of the street to the other each day during the week between Oct. 3 and April 30.

“This is excellent news for Laval residents,” said Mayor Marc Demers. “This is a measure that will simplify their lives, and without compromising the quality of our maintenance operations. Over the next few winters, we will go even further in improving our offer to citizens and the efficiency of operations by implementing a modern and evolving solution that will make Laval a leader in the management of urban parking.”

New rule to follow

From May to October 2021, seasonal street panels will have added to them the following additional text, “during maintenance operations,” as well as a phone number to call. It will also become possible to subscribe for automated reminder calls, as well as other technological means (text messages, e-mails or through an app) in order to know the state of parking on a given street from Oct. 1 to April 30.

The city notes that this new way of doing things is in itself temporary. Beginning in the spring of 2022, a call for bids will be made in order to install, beginning in the fall that year, illuminated panels that will allow for a more dynamic management of street parking all year long.

Residents were surveyed

According to the city, over the past two winters pilot projects took place in six sectors, involving some 5,300 residents. Various solutions, all proposing restrictions applicable during snow removal operations, were tested and evaluated on the basis of the satisfaction of residents.

According to the results of the evaluation, 78 per cent of residents said that the solution which ended up being adopted was the one which was the best. While 12 per cent said it was neither an improvement nor a setback, 10 per cent said it was definitely a setback.

2020 BIEL report tabled with executive-committee

The 2020 report by the intermunicipal Bureau d’intégrité et d’éthique de Laval-Terrebonne (BIELT) was tabled with the City of Laval’s executive-committee on April 21, suggesting that measures the city took several years ago to bolster ethical practices while safeguarding against ethical breaches are still being enforced.

“The facts contained in our 2020 performance report show clearly the importance of remaining focused on the future, while establishing strategic orientations for the future which will allow the City of Laval to maintain the confidence of its citizens,” said Pierre Brochet, director of the Laval Police Dept. which oversees the city’s role in the BIEL.

Some achievements in 2020 in Laval:

•     Elaboration of a new five-year plan 2021-2025;

•     645 inquiry requests.

Some numbers

Types of dossierLavalTerrebonne
Tips received7916
Tips sent to UPAC00
Inquiries requiring police attention180
Inquiries requiring administrative attention4515
Recommendations8050

To report an ethical situation It is possible to report a situation involving questionable ethical practices to the BIEL, by e-mail at biel@laval.ca, or at bielt@terrebonne.laval.ca, or by telephone at 450 575-BIEL (2435).

City of Lévis subscribes to Laval’s technical support services

During the City of Laval executive-committee’s meeting on April 28, Laval signed an agreement with the City of Lévis by which Lévis will receive technical support from Laval to be able to offer digital services to residents.

Lévis is the first city in the province to sign an agreement of this sort with Laval. The city hopes to share its expertise with other municipalities which would like to improve their practices for governance, citizen relations and technical services.

The City of Laval says its system for processing resident requests allows 24/7 contact with residents to be maintained. The computerized system receives requests, transfers them and processes follow-ups. The system relies on in-person, telephone, online and smartphone app contact tracing, and allows city employees to share contact information.

“We are the first city that has gone as far as this in terms of digital services for its citizens,” said Laval mayor Marc Demers. “And we did this while equipping ourselves with a solution that offers a complete view of the requests of any citizen by our employees. This is part of our determination to improve the citizen’s experience while encouraging ongoing improvement in performance.”

Lévis mayor Gilles Lehouiller said, “Like many municipalities, we are getting 3-1-1 service and a new web site. When we saw Laval’s solution, it seemed only natural to acquire this outstanding expertise and to profit from a proven solution that would save time.

This will allow us to improve our procedures, tools and knowledge in citizen request processing, while accelerating our digital transformation.” The City of Laval claims that its request-processing system speeds things up by up to 66 per cent.

The city says that any sums coming in as a result of the agreement will be reinvested in Laval’s ongoing digitalization. The city also notes that the request-processing system won awards in 2020 from the Réseau de l’informatique municipale du Québec (RIMQ) and the Project Management Institute (PMI) Montréal.

Local schools win bursaries in city’s Défi OSEntreprendre

Laval News Contributor
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Local schools win bursaries in city’s Défi OSEntreprendre

Annual competition focuses on developing entrepreneuralism

Several schools in Laval, including some in Chomedey were awarded bursaries last week during the 23rd annual Défi OSEntreprendre competition held with the support of the City of Laval.

Up to the challenge

“Despite the current circumstances, we can see growing activity in entrepreneurship,” said Laval deputy mayor Stéphane Boyer, who is vice-president of the executive-committee and responsible for economic development.

‘Laval recognizes the creativity and determination of our students, who help build our city,’ said deputy mayor Stéphane Boyer

“All the partners from Laval are together for the success of our entrepreneurs. With its involvement in the Défi OSEntreprendre, Laval recognizes the creativity and determination of our students, who help build our city, and all the participants who were inspiring. Congratulations and good luck as you move forward.”

The winners

The following schools were among the winners:

Grade school (first and second grade) Bourse régionale $750

Green Club – Twin Oaks Elementary

Grade school (third and fourth year) Bourse régionale $750

Going Batty for Pollinators – Twin Oaks School

Grade school (fifth and sixth grade) Bourse régionale $750

The Labre House Helping Hand – Souvenir School

Secondary (first and second year) Bourse régionale $750

Jardin pédagogique et verdissement – École l’Odyssée-des-Jeunes

Secondary (third, fourth and fifth year) Bourse régionale $750

Feast – Collège Letendre

Secondary – adaptation scolaire Bourse régionale $750

Projet informatique CAL – École Curé-Antoine-Labelle

University collective (four persons plus) Bourse régionale $750

Journal de vulgarisation scientifique La Synthèse – Institut national de la recherche scientifique – Armand-Frappier

Onto the next phase In all, 19 winners were announced (seven for schools, 10 for businesses). As well, there were two special awards. The winners from Laval (except the special ones) will go on to compete against their counterparts from other regions throughout Quebec in June.

Waste removal confusion leads to chaos on Clarendon Ave.

Martin C. Barry
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Waste removal confusion leads to chaos on Clarendon Ave.

Revelakis blames three-week pick-up gap on city’s bureaucratic snafu

By any standard, two to three weeks would be a long time for residents of any Laval neighbourhood to have to wait for their garbage, recycling or kitchen waste to be picked up by the city’s refuse collection workers.

Bureaucracy blamed

However, according to Chomedey city councillor Aglaia Revelakis, that’s exactly how long home dwellers on Clarendon Ave. in Chomedey had to stand by patiently recently. In large part, she blames the mess on an overly bureaucratic system created by the city to manage citizen requests and complaints.

Towards the end of March, the City of Laval completed the distribution of black wheeled garbage bins to 130,000 single-family homes in Laval and multi-unit dwellings with up to seven apartments, with automated pickup of the bins starting on April 1.

Binned garbage only

With that, most households in Laval now have three bins for waste disposal: blue for general recycling, brown for kitchen waste, and black for unrecyclable garbage going to landfill.

With the introduction of the black bin, garbage now goes directly from the bin into the garbage truck after being wheeled from the curb. However, waste removal employees are also instructed not to pick up any garbage (bagged or otherwise) if it isn’t inside the black bin.

According to Revelakis, the new way of doing things has caused confusion in other Laval districts, and not just Chomedey. However, she maintains that one street in particular in Chomedey was especially hard-hit recently when garbage and recycling removal service stopped for several weeks in a row.

Chaos on Clarendon

“There’s a specific street in my district, Clarendon, where the garbage was not picked up for two consecutive weeks,” she said in an interview with the Laval News. “Citizens called me and I had to intervene.”

Revelakis said that after calling the city’s 3-1-1 central phone number for public works to report the problem on Clarendon, the operator assured her a truck would pass by that very day. But when it didn’t, she tried again a week later, and again the truck didn’t make it.

“It was three weeks in a row that this was an issue,” she claimed regarding the garbage removal. “At the same time, there were issues with the recycling two weeks in a row when they did not pass. And there were issues with recycling, garbage and compost [kitchen waste].”

New policy confusion

In addition to these refuse collections, Revelakis said several weeks went by when larger items, such as old furniture or appliances, also weren’t picked up on Clarendon. This was mostly because of the new policy requiring that everything to be taken away as garbage must fit in the black bin. Otherwise, the large item collection takes place on only one day each month.

Revelakis said she understood up to a point that there was bound to be confusion. “I know it’s a new project and people have to be patient, but three weeks is unheard of for garbage not being picked up,” she said, noting that the problem remained not entirely solved as of late last week.

Call 3-1-1, she says

“So, there is an issue. What the citizens have to understand is they have to call 3-1-1, and they have to complain when things don’t happen correctly, whether it’s the garbage, the compost, the recycling or the snow. If they don’t call 3-1-1 to advise them, they will think everything is working a hundred per cent.

“And I understand that the citizens are frustrated,” she added. “Because, you know, they are paying taxes and they’re not getting the services they deserve. But at the same time, we’re in a very bureaucratic system, so if they don’t call 3-1-1, and if they don’t give me authorization to intervene, I will not even be able to look at the file. That’s how bureaucratic it’s become and it’s holding back things.”

Motion seeks improvements

As a potential solution to the waste removal confusion, Revelakis tabled a resolution at the April city council meeting (which was scheduled to be debated at the May council on Tuesday or Wednesday this week).

The motion asks the administration that it make accessible to the city councillors as soon as possible a table of performance indicators for the 3-1-1 line, so there could be a better idea of how effective the city’s requests and complaints service actually is.

Stéphane Boyer would be Laval’s youngest mayor, if elected

Martin C. Barry
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Stéphane Boyer would be Laval’s youngest mayor, if elected

Mouvement lavallois hopeful pledges strong economy, with human approach

In the realm of politics where it’s increasingly difficult to hide the least flaw from scrutiny or Google search algorithms, it would be hard to find two words better than “squeaky clean” to describe Stéphane Boyer.

Currently Laval’s deputy-mayor and vice-president of the executive-committee, Boyer is the duly-anointed successor to Mayor Marc Demers as the Mouvement lavallois’s leader and mayoralty candidate in the City of Laval’s municipal elections on Nov. 7.

Aspiring mayor at 33

One of the things that is perhaps most notable about Boyer is his relatively young age. Currently 33 years old, he could become the youngest mayor in the city’s history.

None of the mayors in Laval’s 56 years (not counting the interim mayors who stepped in briefly after the sudden departure of Gilles Vaillancourt) was as young as Boyer when first elected. Laval’s first two mayors, Jean-Noël Lavoie and Jacques Tétreault, were 38 and 36 years old respectively.

While some members of the City of Laval’s executive-committee have managed to rock the boat politically one way or another over the past eight years, about the only thing of note that a web search for Stéphane Boyer turns up is his decision in August last year to donate nearly $29,000 in fees to Centraide, which he would otherwise have received for presiding the city employees’ retirement fund committee.

‘For the common good’

Although some cynics might interpret this action as a calculated gesture just before an election year, Boyer maintains it was in keeping with his fundamental principles.

“Everything that has guided my life up to today is the common good,” he said. While acknowledging that what he did might have looked politically opportunistic, he noted it wasn’t his first time giving for the greater good by any means.

Stéphane Boyer is part of the first generation of Laval city councillors elected in 2013 under Marc Demers and the Mouvement lavallois banner, after Gilles Vaillancourt’s 23-year mandate ended prematurely.

In 2009, Boyer walked from Percé in Gaspésie to Montreal, a distance of around 1,100 kilometres, to raise money for autism research and treatment. He also been involved in the oversight and management of food banks. “What drives me is the need to make a positive impact around me,” he said.

Roots in Saint-François

Boyer’s family roots are in Saint-François – specifically on rue Boyer where his grandfather lived for around 50 years. Stéphane Boyer himself grew up on a street in Pont-Viau somewhere around the limits of Auteuil and Vimont.

‘One of the reasons I am running is to take action’

When Marc Demers first came into office nearly eight years ago, his first point of order (and an ongoing theme throughout his two terms) was to cleanse the city administration of the corruption that the Charbonneau Commission and UPAC exposed in the more than two decades of governance by the previous administration.

The Laval News asked Stéphane Boyer whether he would be continuing this crusade to the same extent if elected mayor, or if he might be placing more emphasis on economic development and other issues.

Projects to finish

“I believe that Mayor Demers’s biggest accomplishment was dealing effectively with the history of corruption, while getting the city back on track,” Boyer said, adding that Demers brought many of the city’s practices up to modern standards.

“As for me, one of the reasons I am running is to take action,” he added. “We have several good projects underway that we’ve been working on for several years now that are on the verge of being completed and I would like to see them through.

“As I am also someone who is very innovative personally, I would like to see Laval become more innovative. At the same time, there is the economic crisis, as well as the COVID, social and environmental crises. So, I would say this is a key year in Laval not only for projects we’ve been working on for years, but also because with the pandemic many things are going to change and it’s important for Laval to make the right choices.”

‘Social divides,’ says Boyer

Besides his political experience, Boyer has a background in project management and business administration. A graduate of a political communications program at UQAM, he has also done studies in finance. In addition, he has taken part in international student exchange programs, including a stint with a United Nations delegation dealing with crime and drug trafficking in Mexico.

When asked what overall orientation he would give the city, Boyer replied, “To me, it’s a balance between having a thriving, innovative economy that attracts new businesses, balanced out with a very human approach. I think there are lots of social divides right now.”

Dufour still important

A few days before the Mouvement lavallois executive announced that Boyer had been chosen as the party’s mayoral candidate, Sainte-Rose city councillor Virginie Dufour publicly expressed an interest in seeking the nomination.

Boyer said Dufour, who is generally perceived as the third most prominent member of the executive-committee after himself and the mayor, will remain a leading influence should the ML form the next administration. “She and I talked when the race for the leadership started,” he said.

Still working as a team

“We have always worked very well together. Of course, everyone who wanted to was free to become involved in the leadership race. However, we had already come to an understanding around the beginning that as much as possible we would work together.

“Sometimes in political parties, leadership races lead to arguments and rifts. But this was not the case with us. We had already understood at the beginning of the race that we wanted to work together regardless.”

Laval News Volume 29-12

Costa Hovris
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Laval News Volume 29-12

The current issue of the Laval News volume 29-12 published May 5th, 2021.
Covering Laval local news, politics, sports and our new section Mature Life.
(Click on the image to read the paper.)

Front page of the Laval News.
https://lavalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TLN-29-12-WEB.pdfFront page of the Laval News, May 5th, 2021 issue.

New COVID-19 vaccination centre opens in Fabreville at Place Sports Experts

Laval News Contributor
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New COVID-19 vaccination centre opens in Fabreville at Place Sports Experts

The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Laval opened a new mass vaccination centre on April 29 at Place Sports Experts, 4855 Rue Louis-B.-Mayer in Fabreville.

The CISSS says operating hours will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Some facts about the vaccination centre:

  • The centre has 44 vaccinator chairs – five times the capacity of existing centres. It will become the largest mass vaccination centre in Laval.
  • A total of 5,000 to 6,000 people will be able to be vaccinated there daily.
  • Overall, Laval will be able to vaccinate up to 9,000 people every day in its four MVC.
  • More than 70 employees will be on site every shift. This means 400 employees will be working at the centre 7 days a week.
  • The centre was made possible thanks to the contribution of Sports Experts. Appointments can be booked online at Québec.ca/vaccinCOVID or by phone at 1 877 644-4545.

Locations of other mass vaccination centres in Laval:

  • In the west, the Méga Centre Notre-Dame, off Autoroute 13
  • In the centre, Quartier Laval, near place Bell and Cégep Montmorency
  • In the east, SmartCentres Laval Est, at the corner of Papineau Autoroute and the 440.

Let’s continue to protect ourselves!
As a reminder, the vaccination campaign does not mean the end of health measures. It will take many months to immunize a sufficiently large number of people. We need to keep protecting ourselves by following physical distancing measures, wearing a mask or face covering and washing our hands often.

19-year-old targeted in attempted murder in Auteuil

Martin C. Barry
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19-year-old targeted in attempted murder in Auteuil

The silence on a quiet residential street in Laval’s Auteuil district was rudely shattered on Wednesday afternoon during an incident the Laval Police are describing as an attempt to murder a 19-year-old man.

According to the LPD, the target of the attempt had just left his home on Bellerose Blvd. East around 1:30 pm when a vehicle approached him near de Tolède and Marc streets.

The police say shots were fired several times from inside the car, striking the victim at least once in the upper body.

Despite his injuries, he made it on his own to Cité de la Santé hospital, from where he was later transferred to another hospital in Montreal better equipped to treat him.

According to the LPD, his injuries are not life-threatening.

The suspects’ vehicle, which quickly fled the scene, is described as a grey sedan.

On Wednesday afternoon, the police established a security perimeter around the crime scene to gather clues as to where the suspects went.

Younger employees suffer anxiety from excessive videoconference meetings, says survey

Laval News Contributor
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Younger employees suffer anxiety from excessive videoconference meetings, says survey

A new study is providing insights on the high degree of anxiety and self-consciousness experienced by those who are part of the younger videoconference-focused work culture.

Among other things, respondents reported mental and emotional concerns as a result of spending an unprecedented amount of time in front of webcams during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study showed a significant correlation between younger professionals and reported impact of meeting on video. In the 18-24 age group, 64% commented on the following factors:

  • Embarrassment over what can be seen in their backgrounds.
  • Self-consciousness over physical appearance on camera.
  • Feelings of peer pressure to have cameras on.
  • The fear of embarrassing disruptions by family members or pets at home.
  • Being constantly distracted by other meeting expressions or movements during the meeting.

Other key findings include that 63 per cent reported that the number of meetings per week had substantially increased since the pandemic. And 61 per cent of respondents indicated that all those meetings were conducted on video.

“Employers need to shift their policies and have candid conversations with their teams about how many meetings they are having and how they feel about meeting on video,” said Cynthia Watson, CEO of Virtira, a consulting and project management company.

The company specializes in remote advisory and project services to companies to increase virtual team productivity.

“Especially as we move towards hybrid work models, virtual meetings with others aren’t going away,” added Watson. “So employers have an opportunity to implement policies to improve well-being.”

The following recommendations were made based on the findings of the survey:

  • Video is best used to connect employees in small groups, one-on-one meetings, or for the first 2-3 minutes of larger meetings for everyone to say hello. Even in this context, many people are still uncomfortable with being on video, and managers and HR should work with them to determine root cause and adjust their work situation where possible.
  • There is no indication that large meetings with a screen of talking heads have any productivity advantages, and may actually increase distraction and participant anxiety.
  • Being on camera should be up to the employee. Training and communications need to be introduced to make staying off-camera a personal choice when possible.
  • Even with policies, recognize that peer pressure is a key driver of camera use, especially in younger workers, even where it is not required by management or the organization.
  • Meetings are not a substitute for informal office chats or a “water cooler”. Businesses need to introduce and train managers and employees on the use of collaboration workspaces where informal updates can occur 24/7, synchronously, and asynchronously.
  • Packing extra people into a call when they don’t need to be sucks time and productivity. Invest in good meeting notes with a meeting recording so they can quickly update themselves on what they need to know and have more uninterrupted work time.

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