- Mentimeter surveyed 1,500 Americans who are now working from home to learn more about their lifestyles.
- According to the responses, people often get changed into professional clothes, fix their hair and makeup, and rearrange furniture right before a video call to impress their colleagues.
- Workers say they are getting distracted by their families and housemates the most and are worried their opinions aren’t being heard in video calls.
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As companies shift to a work-from-home strategy amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, more Americans are working remotely than ever before.
Mentimeter, a company that makes interactive presentations, surveyed 1,500 Americans who are now working from home to learn more about their habits. Some of the findings are bizarre, while others are eye-opening.
Keep reading to learn what people are doing with their new at-home lifestyles.
16% of virtual workers have admitted to customizing their backgrounds in their homes before a video call.
Mentimeter found that people are rearranging their belongings and furniture so that they can impress their colleagues. One man, pictured, even tricked his colleagues into thinking he lives in an expensive apartment by printing out a picture of a luxury bedroom and placing it behind him ahead of a video call.
11% said they noticed something they considered unprofessional in the background of a colleague's video.
Despite the fact that people are rearranging their belongings to impress each other, some don't seem to be doing that great of a job.
44% said they choose to wear different clothes when they make video calls.
One of the most popular tips for working from home is to put on actual clothes and not stay in pajamas all day. It turns out that almost half of the people surveyed are not taking that advice and instead change into appropriate clothing just for work calls.
46% of people surveyed said they spend more time on their personal appearance before a video call.
Mentimeter found that people are adjusting their hair and makeup right before a video call to look professional and further impress their colleagues.
12% of workers admitted they are usually naked when taking a conference call.
Among the people surveyed, 12% said they often turn off their camera during a conference call because they are naked. However, that doesn't always work in their favor. One woman was caught pulling down her pants and going to the bathroom on a video call because she thought her camera was turned off.
30% of workers said their family members, partners, or housemates are the No. 1 distractors while working from home.
The second biggest distractor was internet or technology issues, affecting 28% of people. TV and other distractions in the home round out the top three.
56% of people surveyed said they feel their opinions and ideas are heard less in video meetings.
People are worried their ideas and opinions aren't coming across in this new virtual environment compared to in-person meetings. Women are experiencing this slightly more than men are, however.
23% of remote employees right now said they miss their colleagues and the face-to-face time in the office.
In this new work-from-home strategy, employees are missing their colleagues, but they are not missing their commutes to work.
- Read more:
- People are sharing photos of their 'unglamorous' work-from-home spaces as offices shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic
- Employees at home are being photographed every 5 minutes by an always-on video service to ensure they're actually working - and the service is seeing a rapid expansion since the coronavirus outbreak
- SUCCEEDING FROM HOME: Here's exactly how to thrive as a remote worker in the days of coronavirus
