As COVID-19 has spread across the globe, businesses have prudently shut down offices and moved millions of employees from corporate desks to their domestic couches. Many of us are quarantined in too-small spaces, often with our children, hopping on Zoom meetings like everything is business as usual. And it kind of is, until your kid inevitably runs into the room, cutting off your boss mid-sentence, shouting, “Poo poo!”
Work culture will need to adjust to the new normal, in which toddlers and flatulent dogs are our coworkers. It inevitably will. But until then, here are some of the worst work-from-home fails we’ve seen in the past week. They prove that, however rough your work-from-home experience has been, it could have been a lot worse.
Blame it on the roommate
Whole house WFH day 1 report: I whispered “I LOVE YOU” loudly into what turned out to be my spouse’s active meeting headset mic. 🏆
— Lindsay Crudele (@thelindsayist) March 12, 2020
Strange new WFH universe pillow talk is your partner saying "I agree with what you were saying in that meeting this afternoon"
— Emily Kager (@EmilyKager) March 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/rimshutup/status/1240323823309815815
Unexpected partial nudity
Pro-tip: if you and your husband are both working from home, check to see if he's on a four-way video call BEFORE running past the office naked to get a towel from the linen closet. #RealStory #COVID19 #WFH https://t.co/axghUWjvs2
— Christina Kerby (@ChristinaKerby) March 13, 2020
Big WFH learning for me today.
📝 Remind Ryan to put some clothes on before he goes into the bathroom first thing in the morning.
Today he walked past my team video call BUTT naked 🤦🏻♀️
SOOOOOOO FUNNY 😂
— Amanda | 5 Stories 🪄 (@amandatells5) March 17, 2020
First day of working from home is going great. On a video call meeting with my 2 girl teammates and my brother walks into the room with only his boxers on. Happy WFH!😂
— Marissa Notaro (@xoxomarissmarie) March 16, 2020
Wild animals
The story of my WFH 😂 pic.twitter.com/WlGNpb2ToF
— டோனி ஸ்டார்க் 🆃🅾🅽🆈 🆂🆃🅰🆁🅺 (@MaduraiStark) March 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/stanhoraczek/status/1240276358942601221
Working from home today and my cat optioned to join me for my work meeting. She means business. pic.twitter.com/yqNQhPOQk2
— Misheal Crocker (@M_C_Crocker) March 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/QuanTarantino_/status/1239571547616149510
just started talking to my cat in the middle of a 68-person zoom meeting—and i wasn't muted!!! send the meteor!!!!
— daniel taroy (@danieltaroy) March 16, 2020
Teleconferencing is hard
WFH:
– join meeting
– unmute to speak
– washing machine starts spinning
– hurriedly get up to escape the noise
– not realise charger is plugged in
– proceed to loudly knock pint of water + cup of coffee all over *everything*– …continue speaking calmly as if nothing happened
— 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀 (@ComethTheNerd) February 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/taxxonomic/status/1240321389141340160
I'm in a WFH meeting and my Google Home just answered a question someone on the video call asked, unprompted.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. pic.twitter.com/Z5Bv4coG3u
— Ashley Casperite (@missalwayswrite) October 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/kalebcoleman/status/1237618751534555141
This AM, WFH and prepping for 5 meetings:
Me: I don't have to put make-up on! Camera's pretty blurry, no one's gonna see this nose zit.
First meeting:
Coworker: There's something stuck to your nose. Is it food?
Subsequent meetings:
Me: Yes, it's a zit, let's move on.
😂
— Philina Fan (@skyeezfalling) March 11, 2020
Don’t say “I heard email got coronavirus” in a wfh comms meeting. It does not land.
— Aaron Poor (@aaronnotpoor) March 12, 2020
WFH Side effect:
We can no longer use "Sorry we're getting kicked out of this room" as an excuse to end a meeting on time.
— ∴ Joshua Newton (@nooneswatching) March 17, 2020
Trying to press the 'leave meeting' button really fast on Zoom so I don't have to hold my awkward goodbye face for more than a second#WFH #workingfromhome pic.twitter.com/O7aRoSLnEq
— Heather DeLand (@HeatherDeLand) March 17, 2020
Body sounds
day 1 of WFH and i already burped on a bluejeans meeting thinking i was on mute💀
— kief (@grtbarrierkief) March 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/yvettemc18/status/1240317486840475649
Challenges of interior design
If you do WFH and have a Skype meeting, always consider if the 'art' on the wall is:
A) In shot
B) Appropriate pic.twitter.com/CqRAvCV4AF— Gareth Barlow (@GarethBarlow) March 18, 2020
@MantonJen has this #WFH all sorted….. pic.twitter.com/Qj7LRYAY9m
— Ramsay Jones CBE 💙🇺🇦 (@Ramsay59) March 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/zmohlis/status/1240272468947787777
The subject of every WFH Zoom meeting is actually "oh so that's where you live."
— R/GA (@RGA) March 11, 2020
I’m not losing it, you’re losing it!
https://twitter.com/AnnieB1456/status/1240010084605984771
Kids saying the darndest things
WFH diary, day 1:
🔋 Power went out during recording
🚧 Contruction workers are extra loud today
🍌 Daughter walked in on a meeting singing “I like banaaaaanas” at the top of her lungs
— Howard Pinsky (@Pinsky) March 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/blakereid/status/1237877538749173760
My kid just walked into my video conference, yelled "look at my penis," and hit the button on his fart machine. Working from home going really great!
— Jenna Weiss-Berman (@WBJenna) March 17, 2020
Okay, this is a work-from-home win
https://twitter.com/Bharat53021017/status/1240329576598736896
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