Video Call Use Increasing and Etiquette Still Evolving: One in 10 Employed Adults Do Not View a Bathroom as Off-Limits for Work-Related Calls

BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - Sep 5, 2012) -

New survey shows:

• Video calling used by 40 percent of Americans
• Gender divides occur among employed Americans; men use video more than women, but women tend to dress more professionally for work-related video calls
• 21 percent of business use is for customer/client meetings or to close a business deal

A new survey commissioned by Radvision and conducted by Harris Interactive® among 2,207 U.S. adults finds that 40 percent of Americans have participated in a video call or video conference. As the growth of video calls increases across the workplace and among consumers, the video call use cases and etiquette standards are changing rapidly.

Responses from the recent survey included some surprising feedback regarding video call use scenarios, such as inclusion of the bathroom as an appropriate venue for a work-related video conference according to approximately one in 10 (13 percent) employed adults. The survey also revealed that those who live in the Southern United States or Western United States are more likely to have ever used video calls than those residing in other parts of the country.

Additional noteworthy findings are described below and a survey summary can be accessed online. 

Video Call "Etiquette" Emerging
Among those employed full-time/part-time:

• Some venues or environments would naturally seem to be off-limits for video calls -- however, more than 10 percent of employed adults indicate that the bathroom is not off-limits for holding a work-related video call.
• Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans ages 35+ are significantly more likely to deem the bathroom off-limits for video calls than their younger counterparts.
• Workplace video calls held by a swimming pool are not considered off-limits by 35 percent of adults.
• When asked how they would typically dress for a work-related video conference, women are more likely than men to dress in business attire.

Video in the Workplace
Among those employed full-time/part-time:

• 21 percent of have used video calling for the business purposes of a customer or client meeting or closing a deal.
• 16 percent have personally used video calls for a job interview or employment termination.
• More than 20 percent would dress more casually for a work-related video call than an in-person meeting. And, single/never married Americans are more likely to dress more casually during video-conferences than they would for an in-person meeting.

"The growth of video calling is not surprising -- many companies are looking for alternative cost-effective and efficient ways of doing business. At the same time, younger entrants into the workforce are familiar with using video for more personal communication. As a result, video call etiquette is still evolving," said Bob Romano, global vice president of marketing for Radvision, an Avaya company. "Those businesses that are using video today to collaborate with customers, partners and employees are at a distinct advantage when it comes to video etiquette within the workplace. For those who are new adopters of the technology, companies like Avaya offer the tools to help address video etiquette concerns."

Radvision provides the Scopia video conferencing platform, which provides interoperable and affordable video applications for desktop, mobile and beyond. It allows users to collaborate via video anytime, anywhere, via any device.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Radvision, an Avaya Company, from July 26 - July 30, 2012 among 2,207 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Lois Paul and Partners: radvision@lpp.com.

Additional Resources

• For tips on mobile video conferencing and beyond, visit Radvision's blog.
• For a demonstration of Radvision Scopia Desktop and Scopia Mobile, click here.

About Radvision, an Avaya Company
Radvision, an Avaya company, is a leading provider of video conferencing and telepresence technologies over IP and wireless networks. Radvision teams with its channel and service provider partners to offer end-to-end visual communications that help businesses collaborate more efficiently. Radvision propels the unified communications evolution forward with unique technologies that harness the power of video, voice, and data over any network. Visit www.radvision.com, our blog, and follow us on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Follow Avaya on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, and the Avaya Connected Blog.

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should" or "will" or other similar terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While we believe these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Avaya's filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. Avaya disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Radvision and Scopia are registered trademarks of Radvision, Ltd. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. All rights reserved © 2012 Radvision, Ltd.