Waving ‘goodbye’ at the end of a videoconference is more meaningful than it seems

More than one in two professionals say they make this hand gesture before disconnecting from a videoconference. — AFP Relaxnews

With the widespread rollout of remote work in a variety of sectors, video conferences have become commonplace. But employees don’t always know the behavioral etiquette for these virtual meetings, particularly for the moment when they draw to a close. Some choose to wave goodbye, which can seem like a surprising and informal gesture in a professional setting.

This phenomenon is so widespread that it even has its own nickname in the work world: the “Zoom wave”, in reference to the online video platform emblematic of online meetings and remote work. Specialists believe that using this hand gesture for “goodbye” is linked to our desire to create social connections, in a context where restrictions linked to the pandemic prevented such connections from being made.