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“Let me refill my coffee before we start” is not an uncommon phrase you’ll see me type before I have an online meeting while working from home. Chances are that I don’t really need more coffee; it’s code for I need to put on a bra. “Let me settle the dog really quickly” means I need to comb my hair that has likely been in a baseball hat from the moment I woke up. It’s probably pretty safe to say that I know there is “Zoom outfit” protocol and that it hardly fits into my daily routine.
But more and more mamas are having to take online meetings with babies on their laps, thanks to the pandemic. One can assume a bra is a requirement, but is there really a virtual dress code for Zoom meetings?
Is there an online dress code for virtual meetings?
Office attire has changed quite a bit over the years. Many firms allow casual clothes in the office and only require business attire when meeting with clients or going to meetings. You should already know the standard dress code for being at your particular workplace and what is expected, and this should be a standard for your online meetings. That means if you wear a suit to work, you should be dressed accordingly in most circumstances. A jacket and tie may not always be necessary, but keep your look neat and professional. Checking with your employer to see if they have a suggested dress code for client interactions might be a good idea.
If you work in a more casual work environment and you’re having a briefing with your team, your online dress code can probably get away with clean, non-wrinkled casual clothes. I enjoy team meetings where we all take note of interesting T-shirts donned by certain members of the team. [Abir Syed],(https://upcounting.com/) who runs a CPA firm, seems to agree with my view. “I'm a believer in casual wear almost across the board, especially if the meeting is internal," he told Mom.com. "I think the business world as a whole is slowly moving beyond judging a person's competence/professionalism by whether they wear a dress shirt or not.”
But if you have a presentation, dress for success. You should present yourself as if you were in a board room making the presentation. This means wearing the clothes that are clean, pressed, and professional. Put your best foot forward. As a side note, make sure the background is not cluttered or messy. It’s about the entire presentation.
Your Zoom outfit: Yes, pants are a must
Don’t fool yourself. It wasn’t all that long ago that a reporter doing a remote broadcast did so on ABC without pants. He didn’t realize his pantless bottom was in the frame of the camera. You might be comfortable with the framing of your camera, but remember — if you have a sudden kiddo emergency or need to grab something from a bookshelf or file cabinet, you’ll be exposed for everyone in the meeting to see. Do everyone a favor and put a pair on — unless, of course, you wouldn’t wear pants in the office as we discussed in the previous section.
Look, this isn’t to say that I don’t work in my pajamas on some days. Feel free to borrow my line if you have an impromptu meeting — getting coffee is always a great excuse to delay the start time for a couple of minutes while you get some pants on.
The pandemic has changed office dynamics
Many offices around the country have gone for a more relaxed look knowing that employees are not just working from home, but also working while being babysitters, teachers, and homemakers. It’s a lot to balance, and the corporate world has taken note. This is greatly attributed to the fact that executives find themselves in the same boat as their employees and realize it isn’t easy or realistic to demand that every meeting be attended in normal work attire. In fact, many men have donned baseball caps themselves during many of my meetings as their hair grew out and they couldn’t get to a barber.
If you know that your company has relaxed the dress code standards during remote work during the pandemic, the rule of thumb is to be neatly presented. This means combing your hair, washing your face, and brushing your teeth while wearing clean and unwrinkled clothes.
A note about productivity
Allison Coffey, mom of two elementary school kids, told Mom.com that she has a new respect for those who work from home as the norm. “I always thought it would be so great to stay home, but now I long for the day when I can get back into the office and focus on even the simplest of tasks. Everything is harder now.”
For those who aren’t used to working from home, they may find the discipline to get everything done is lacking. It’s harder than most people imagined to work from home. With that said, productivity increases when you are dressed for work. If you find yourself lacking the motivation to get work done, regardless of a meeting, try getting dressed as if you were going to the office. It’s a mental cue to your brain and body that you are ready for work.
