A new online survey of those working in the financial services in Singapore has uncovered what is really going on at the other end of that business call.

The survey conducted by eFinancialCareers found that over half (54 per cent) of professionals polled admitted they do not pay full attention to every conference call they attend.

Half of them (50 per cent) have conducted conference calls while surfing the internet, while 49 per cent find themselves eating during the call.

The conference call has become an essential part of communication in the financial world, where almost three quarters (72 per cent) of professionals employed in financial services join conference calls on a regular basis, the survey noted. Around 1,780 responded to the survey.