"Ope, Donna, It Looks Like You're On Mute": What Our New Work Cliches Say About Our Evolving Work Culture

By John Loos | Senior Content Specialist

Oy. We've been in this pandemic long enough that work culture has evolved an entirely new set of cliches and corporate-isms to match our new virtual work reality.

Remember the simple days of the Before Times when a meeting was just a bunch of senior managers saying "clay on the table" and "leverage" and "granular" back and forth until it was decided something was decided and everyone went back to their offices and emailed each other for hours about leveraging granular clay on the table?

Oh, we were so innocent back then!

Now, most of our meetings come wrapped in a snug virtual shawl, which means there's a whole new generation of cliches related to the inescapable peccadillos of remote work.

But what do these new Zoom-isms say about the way our work culture is evolving? Let's use our core competencies, push the envelope and think outside the box as we examine the meaning behind our favorite phrases.

"Ope, Donna, I Think You're On Mute"

It happens at least three times a meeting. Someone, probably you (and definitely me), starts to speak before taking yourself off mute. And if your name is Donna or Jason? Forget about it. You and the mute button are mortal enemies.

But! In that very minor corrective moment lies a groundswell of empathy and others-focus. When we alert someone that they are still on mute, we are signaling that we truly care about their contribution. Zoom has made conversations a bit stiffer, a bit more regimented. Yes, Chad still interrupts his female colleagues and that sucks, but overall our discussions and collaborations have reduced in speed--and that's a good thing!

More people are contributing, more space is being given for contributions, and there's a wonderful egalitarianism emerging as people realize, at least in the virtual space, we're all pretty much on the same footing.

"We'll Just Wait Another Minute And See If Anyone Else Joins"

Again, we're making space for others! We're exhibiting patience!

We're growing into more compassionate beings!

Zoom meetings, subconsciously and perhaps consciously, have helped many of us become a little more equal in our meetings. Maybe it's the fact everyone has the same size rectangle (at least in gallery view) and the same awkward, poorly lit backgrounds and the same screaming baby down the hall (seriously, how does that damn baby get inside everyone's houses?)

These humbling flaws lower the stakes for contribution and help once-rigorous power dynamics flatten out a bit, meaning less intimidation and inhibition during important discussions or brainstorms. And, it causes us to exhibit greater empathy for people who are joining a minute or two late, or are in the car, or are having audio issues.

We've all had a technical snafu at some point! To ensure it doesn't get held against us when it's our turn angering the Internet Gods, we've collectively decided not to hold it against them. In other words, we're treating others how we want to be treated! Childhood socialization lessons have come full circle!

Two years into this pandemic, we wait for each other more patiently. We want to include each other. We're becoming more compassionate and less selfish, likely because we are truly all in this shared experience of virtual awkwardness together!

"Bye Everyone! Thank you!" *Waves For Some Reason*

Okay, so this is more of a physical cliche but it punctuates just about every Zoom I've ever been on. When we're about to log off, we smile and wave at each other.

Could you imagine if we all waved at each other at a conference table when we were done with our in-person meeting? Never! Yet, waving goodbye has become an extremely common way to dismount from a Zoom meeting. I do it so often, my dog has learned it as a signal that I'm now available to pay attention to her and pet her.

And you know what? I love it! It makes me feel more connected in a virtual space that often feels cold and distant. It also demonstrates that we value each other, value our connection and have appreciated our brief time together on Zoom/Teams/Hangouts/Skype/Whatever Horrendous Proprietary Video Conferencing System Your Company Makes You Use.

It's truly the new double exclamation point at the end of every sentence in an email.

These are just three of the biggest cliches that have arisen in Zoom, and all point to a more genuine, empathetic and others-focused work culture.

After two years of a global pandemic, it's heartening to see human beings continue to innovate--even in micro ways--the art of human connection. Who cares if they're cliches? They're helping us survive and bridge gaps, and making it just a little bit easier to thrive.

Yes, these may seem like low-hanging fruit but they are truly outside the box synergies, and I'm excited to see how we continue to peel the onion with blue sky thinking in Q4.

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