What are the worst Zoom/Teams backgrounds you've seen on a work meeting or interview

[Anonymous]

In my experience at a Fortune 100 company, I've noticed that most people are very professional and use a professional background in their Zoom/Teams meetings and interviews. It's so easy to have a professional background because all you need to do is use one of the standard backgrounds (or just blur your own background).

However, I have seen a few "unprofessional" backgrounds, especially when interviewing candidates for entry-level positions.

What is the worst you've seen?

Here is a small sample of what I've seen:

1. Someone with a bed in the background. (The room was tidy, but still.)
2. Someone who looked like they were taking the call from a basement storage room (or very cluttered basement).
3. Someone in a child's bedroom (or perhaps their own childhood bedroom) with a teddy bear wallpaper border on the walls

I feel bad for these candidates, as they may not realize that they come off as not putting in much effort if they cannot be bothered to blur their background? I'm a chill person, but this is a workplace situation, and not a personal meeting/call. Maybe it's just lack of experience in the working world?

[Anonymous]

Beach scene with sand, umbrella blanket. Except there is a dog in the background taking a poop. Showed up right over the speakers left shoulder and looked it was pooping on the guys shirt.

[Anonymous]

Giant blowup of Matisse painting as background.

[Anonymous]

I just talked to someone with a bed in the background this week! I often see pets or people in the house in the background.

On a call yesterday one of the people was on a phone and we could only see his mouth and chin. But the background was fine.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I find all the blurring and fake backgrounds so annoying. They are not “professional.”

[Anonymous]

I'm fine with blurring, but the fake backgrounds are very distracting.

[Anonymous]

I don't use a background, I just sit with my back to a blank wall. But I don't think a tidy made bed is unprofessional.

The worst is when somebody is backlit by a very bright window.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I find all the blurring and fake backgrounds so annoying. They are not “professional.”

This. It looks as if someone is trying to hide something.

I did a job interview over Zoom during COVID with my (made) bed in the background. I live in a one-bedroom apartment and my desk setup is in my bedroom. I did apologize at the beginning. I got the job.

It would be weird in a meeting with customers, but I also wasn't working at home by choice, and didn't have another place to do this sort of thing. Job interviews would be in person now and I work in an office full-time.

[Anonymous]

To me, seeing a bed in the background shows a lack of effort. Could you not just sit with your back toward a wall?

[Anonymous]

I am fine with the professional backgrounds. Is there an option to blur those a bit?

[Anonymous]

To me, seeing a bed in the background shows a lack of effort. Could you not just sit with your back toward a wall?

PP here. I have a wide desk and it is too big to rotate to face away from a wall.

[Anonymous]

I agree that fake picture backgrounds are unprofessional but there's dozens of reasons why someone may need to take a virtual call from somewhere that's not a professional space. So long as some effort has been made into making it look tidy I'm fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ugh, I find all the blurring and fake backgrounds so annoying. They are not “professional.”

This. It looks as if someone is trying to hide something.

I did a job interview over Zoom during COVID with my (made) bed in the background. I live in a one-bedroom apartment and my desk setup is in my bedroom. I did apologize at the beginning. I got the job.

It would be weird in a meeting with customers, but I also wasn't working at home by choice, and didn't have another place to do this sort of thing. Job interviews would be in person now and I work in an office full-time.

I’ve had Zoom calls with people who have roommates and the only private room they have is a bedroom. I have zero problem with a tidy bedroom/ made bed in the background.

[Anonymous]

You get to see my home office and workspace in the background. It's about the same as my work office when I had one. Yeah, it's cluttered with papers, books, computer hardware. Deal with it.

[Anonymous]

I would never accept a job that required a zoom interview. If you don’t have time to meet me why should I work for you?