The Bearded Man in Online Meetings
I'm sitting here with my coffee, watching one particularly earnest colleague who shows up to our daily Zoom meetings looking like he stepped out of a different century. His beard is so bushy that sometimes I wonder if he’s hiding a few rabbits in there for the winter. Every time he speaks, it sounds like his beard is in awe of its own voice, vibrating a little as if it were a magic wand. The next day, our boss decided we all should wear these silly badges saying "I’m Here." So, there we were, the entire team, logging into Zoom in pajamas but proudly sporting these ridiculous badges on our chests. Does anyone genuinely believe that a badge on pajamas makes us slightly more professional? Might as well have shown off breakfast instead. After a week of these meetings, my computer started beeping alarmingly whenever new participants entered. I asked it why, and it seemed to have developed an expertise in human emotions. So, here I am, sipping coffee while witnessing the office order devolve into a full-blown circus, and me just trying to cope with it all. In the end, I realized: all we really need in this era of absurd corporate culture is to laugh while the bearded man welcomes us to the virtual world.