So much can be lost in translation when you are not sitting in the same room, plus a lot of cultures are not as direct, so it takes a lot longer to get to the point of the discussion.

I've had jobs in the past where I spent a lot of time on conference calls, and my current job has very few conference calls. There are pros and cons to both situations. When I was doing a lot of conference calls, my schedule was a lot more flexible and I could work remotely more often. Now that I'm in a new job, being in the office is a lot more important, so my work arrangement is a lot less flexible.

My keys to surviving conference calls: have a phone with a mute feature, have a headset or a good speakerphone, and have a computer available to work/do productive stuff during any conference call lags.