Suiting Up for Video Calls
WRITER’S NOTE: I tried coming up with a humorous account of the previous government shutdowns I’ve experienced in my government contracting career. To be blunt, their impact and the inherent hatred I have for politicians playing games with people’s lives as a manipulation tactic to force their own agendas makes me too angry to satirize. Fortunately, CNN provided an article that gave me something fun to distract me from current events, and I hope it does as much for you, too.
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I hate wearing suits.
I know, you’re probably nodding your head in agreement, but let me make my point even more abundantly clear – I. REALLY. HATE. WEARING. SUITS. I’ve never felt comfortable in them, I don’t like the way they look on me (despite what my mom and some ex-girlfriends have told me), and I’m nearly religious about not wearing something around my neck that can be used to choke me (and I’m absolutely certain at least one or two people in my life - possibly the same ex-girlfriends - have contemplated doing so while I was wearing one). Fortunately, I maintain a career that only demands office casual wear, and so rarely wear suits that I’ve never owned more than one or two at a time. In fact, I went so long without wearing one suit that when I needed to job hunt, it didn’t fit anymore (dry cleaner must’ve shrunk it). I can still count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever had to wear a tuxedo, and all but one of those involved being in friends’ wedding parties. I’ve never enjoyed dressing up and feel most myself in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. But sometimes you have to bite the bullet, go outside the comfort zone, and put on your Sunday best.
So, what does this have to do with videoconferencing? Stay with me, I’ll (eventually) get to that.
Like many office workers, my introduction to Zoom and Teams video calls and meetings was more a matter of necessity than a voluntary option. As the COVID-19 pandemic transformed from accepting filter mask-adorned people at Target as charmingly paranoid to exclaiming “whutchu talkin’ bout, Willis?” at executives ordering us to work from home until further notice, connectivity via email was no longer enough. In less than a week, office drones all over the country had to become experts on scheduling, hosting, and/or participating on video calls and meetings. The lockdown and its impact reared up while I was running point on two overlapping proposal efforts, so the learning curve for virtually running a traditionally in-person/in-the-office process with meeting-intensive milestones was particularly steep and stressful.
Pre-lockdown, many offices offered remote working options, sparing us the rigmarole of showering, dressing, and fighting rush hour traffic for a day or two each week. It was a glorious time where we could work from home, if you count binge watching on streaming services, taking naps, or playing laundry Jenga with the to-be-folded pile until it avalanched to the floor.* We could enjoy the safety net of attending conference calls while still wearing pajamas and sporting bedhead the likes of which even God or our pets had never seen. The only real annoyance with them was that one person in a car/public place or eating with their mouth open while not on mute.
Ah, the days of wine and roses.
With the nearly overnight breakout of video conference tech during the lockdown, one almost wondered if the whole COVID-19 crisis was a master stroke of viral marketing (yes, pun very much intended). The previously dedicated conference call lines the then company I worked for used were disposed of in the blink of an eye as we read emails and watched video training about using Zoom and Teams meeting features. In a matter of days, the “new normal” was navigating video meetings around kids’ nap times or taking dogs out for walks.
And while it was nice not having to get up an extra hour earlier to shower, dress, and drive into work, there was a significant downside to the age of video teleconferencing – appearance mattered. Whereas conference calls provided a security blanket with a lack of visibility, now we had to look like we at least tried combing our hair, didn’t grab the first thing in the closet while it was still dark out, and curb our previously unseen rolling of eyes or dirty hand gestures. As time has gone on, the protocols of how people dressed and appeared settled into a consensus of accepted norms and lessons learned – most of which matched general office attire guidelines. Look professional with clients, no lewd or suggestive graphics, etc. And of course, everyone had to just accept that we would get to know our coworkers’ kids, spouses, and pets (especially if they knowingly – or often not so much – showed up on screen without warning). There are a handful of times that leave me wondering what people were thinking on these calls – two job interviews with would-be employers where one looked like they just climbed out of bed and the other calling me from their gym, still sweaty and in a tank top that left nothing to the imagination regarding her armlength sleeve tattoos.** And we’ve all witnessed or read about the “amusing” wardrobe malfunctions presenting more than we needed or wanted to see of our coworkers.
Of course, the other important aspect of video calls and meetings isn’t just how we present ourselves, but our surroundings, as well:
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As using Zoom and Teams to conduct meetings became more commonplace, there was the inevitable need to be mindful of what’s seen behind us. For the coworkers with a den or home office, it wasn’t much to scratch your head over, but there were a few who had no inhibitions about showing off their bedrooms in their unmade bed glory; living rooms bespeckled with magazines, opened mail or toys; or backyards on nice days (with the accompanying sound of planes flying overhead in one case). And in no short order, there was the experimentation with backgrounds – some using officially sanctioned corporate backdrops, and others silently smiling while waiting to see how long until garnering a laugh at their whimsical choice of backgrounds. Everything from the famous pic of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, various images from iconic movies, or famous locales from around the world. I almost always opt for blurring my background since 1) I can never decide what fun background I want to use, or 2) the algorithms not blanking out parts of my face or showing off things I didn’t want others to see behind me are a bit too unreliable for my tastes.
Three years into the post-COVID/working remote “new normal,” not only does your personal appearance still matter when attending meetings, but now your background is a matter of big concern as “the new business suit.” I can safely claim having walked into enough people’s homes or professional office spaces that I make certain conclusions from what I see. For that matter, I believe that 1) the decoration and appearance of someone’s home or office speaks volumes about them, and 2) a room should always reflect its occupant. A neat, clean, and tastefully decorated office certainly gives off the “responsible” or “legitimate” vibe; just as untidy, dirty, and sparsely adorned spaces generate feelings of “are they broke?” to “don’t touch anything" to “is…that a blood stain?”
Today, the working remote professional now has something in common with actors and the shows and movies they appear in – where hair, makeup, and wardrobe may be the primary concern, but set design is also a big factor when trying to make a good impression. To be fair, common sense seems to have maintained a somewhat tenuous hold with most people. However, one or two have given me reason to pause – one didn’t seem to mind their spouse’s unmentionables strewn on the bed behind them, and another who thought a picture of their Glock 9 MM and AR-15 was an appropriate business meeting background.
And thus, we come back to my starting point since you’re reading this from the perspective of someone who, in addition to shunning formal wear, notoriously hates having his picture taken or appearing on camera. So, you can imagine how hard of an adjustment it was getting used to being on camera as a matter of work routine. Granted, these concerns pale next to living through a pandemic the likes of which we haven’t seen in a century, wars wreaking innocent people’s lives, or ridiculous misuses of political power. But it’s one small thing I can write about and still laugh at.
From the first few months of the lockdown to today, the world of Zoom and Teams meetings leaves me with just one question to work through – what I dislike more, being on camera or wearing a suit?
Maybe I can convince my coworkers that my laptop’s camera is broken…forever.
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* Or so I’m told. I would never, ever condone such unprofessional behavior, even if I wasn’t painfully aware of previous or current employers reading this article.
** As someone with two tattoos and is a big proponent of self-expression, I don’t judge. Considering one of this person’s tattoos was of a barely clothed 1940s-ish pinup girl, I’m not sure it was the best professional look, all things considered. Fortunately, I appreciate the art (both the pinup and the ink) and am pretty hard to offend.