Coronavirus: Admit it, you do laundry during work-from-home video calls

Zooming through domestic duties as well as Zoom calls is the new normal for many multi-tasking work-from-homers.

American Fox 46 News anchor Jason Harper confesses to folding the washing and cleaning the microwave during commercial breaks as he works from home, top left. The #wfh hashtag showcases other work-from-homers set up in their laundry, bottom left. And then there's the Elvis impersonator from Las Vegas who does weddings via Zoom. Pictures: Twitter

At the start of the coronavirus lockdown, Miguel Arias showed up to every Zoom call in a suit and tie — giving his undivided attention to virtual meetings as city council president of Fresno, California.

Fast forward into summer, and not only is the formal wardrobe gone, but Mr. Arias said he has taken to plowing through laundry, cooking and other items on his to-do list while on video calls with his staff. Most of the time, the camera is on.

“Between 30 Zoom calls a day, something’s gotta give,” said Mr. Arias, 42.

More than five months into the pandemic, people are dropping their online facades on Zoom. Exhausted by days jam-packed with online meetings, many are giving up the pretence of a boundary between work and private lives. Instead, they are seizing on videoconferences as chunks of time to also garden, walk the dog, watch TV and exercise.

Sneaking in multiskilling as the cameras roll

Multi-tasking enthusiasts say that colleagues don’t bat an eyelash, and often admit that they, too, are sneaking in other activities with the cameras rolling.

For his part, Mr. Arias said he has accepted multi-tasking from everyone. During the comments portion at public meetings with the council, he said, someone will inevitably pop up on video with a question while washing the dishes. Mr. Arias now starts off staff calls asking everyone to “just confess,” so no one is confused by unexpected background noises when cameras are off but the sound is on, such as barking or honking (dog-walking and driving are two favourite side activities, he has noticed).

If I replied to your email this afternoon you’ll be happy to know it was from inside a turtle paddling pool. #WFH #Heatwave 🥵 🔥 ☀️ 🌡 pic.twitter.com/JXU8roYL9D

— Tom Ellis (@ProfTomEllis) August 11, 2020

Richard Weston, a 44-year-old from Birmingham, England, said he recently tuned out of a video meeting with 60 lodge secretaries for the Freemasons, an international fraternal order. This gathering — a how-to session on properly filling out paperwork — got “a little boring” and had inspired fellow Masons who “are fond of their own voice,” he said.

Instead of listening, Mr. Weston used his laptop and two monitors to simultaneously watch a YouTube clip of a sci-fi TV show, scan Facebook, reply to emails and read the news, with his camera on. He also fiddled with some Star Wars Lego sets.

“I was quite surprised that I didn’t go into a mental meltdown,” said Mr. Weston. He tweeted a photo of the setup, which drew several comments and text messages from other Masons. “Most of them were on Twitter as well,” he said.

Jennifer Gilmore, the chief financial officer of a tactical-gear company in Greenback, Tenn., said she will occasionally put up a plain virtual background to obscure her multi-tasking. But increasingly, the 40-year-old said she finds herself not caring if colleagues get a glimpse into everyday life with her young son.

“There is a weight on your shoulders to complete everything,” Ms. Gilmore said. She has managed to pick vegetables from the garden, make sandwiches, feed the dog, clean the bathroom and pick up mail during “mindless” video calls. She keeps the camera mostly just on herself and often puts herself on mute. Once, she “went into a trance” and scrubbed the entire bottom floor of her house.

“Life is a mess right now and we just have to embrace it,” she added. She said she often doesn’t turn the camera off because she still values being able to see other people and other people seeing her — she said the connection is important, even if she is also doing chores during the call.

Although some people are still keeping up appearances on video chats, multi-tasking fans say they are too tired. Some are rebelling against requirements to keep cameras on at all times by trying to integrate video calls into a routine that works with their life.

Jo Purnell, a fifth-grade math and science teacher, was fuming after his Bay Area school sent two back-to-back reminders to keep videos on during all-day staff meetings to prep for the fall semester. So two weeks ago, Mr. Purnell took the iPad into the bathroom with him to silently protest the “ridiculous” rule.

“It was positioned to only see my shoulders up, but the towel rack is behind me so I’m sure somebody thought, ‘Hmm, looks like you’re in the bathroom,’ ” said Mr. Purnell, 28. But, “no one said anything.” School officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Welcome to my Laundry Room... I mean my Home Studio. #WFH #WorkFromHome #LaundryRoom #iHeartRadio pic.twitter.com/ah2M4Dmt03

— Rose (@RadioRose) April 1, 2020

Asmae Toumi, a Boston healthcare data analyst, said she has been called out once during a virtual meeting: When she looked down to check Twitter on her phone.

“My boss joked, ‘Are you meditating?’ ” she recalled. “We all laughed and moved on.”

Tech wizardry and downward dogs

Despite getting caught, Ms. Toumi said she still likes to do multiple things at once on video calls, including workouts. Sometimes, she will turn her own camera off and dip into downward dog or other yoga poses. During one training session on data modelling, Ms. Toumi put the class on one monitor and used the other to take an exercise class with her personal trainer.

“I need those mental breaks,” she added, “to keep my sanity.”

The most nerve-fraying juggling that Kaitlyn Ramsay, a Ph.D. chemistry student from Victoria, Canada, has ever attempted was hopping on two Zoom calls at the same time.

One was a conference where she was required to speak. The other was a group meeting with a professor to go over research. Neither could be skipped or rescheduled — and she had to keep the cameras on.

At one point, both meetings asked for her input. “That’s when I just had to be honest,” said Ms. Ramsay, 24. “I don’t have the superpower to multiply myself.” She excused herself from the research group to answer a question at the conference.

Elaine Lui, a Toronto-based anchor of the entertainment show etalk on CTV in Canada, cracked open a book while waiting to Zoom with Lin-Manuel Miranda about the film debut of his hit musical “Hamilton.” Ms Lui became thoroughly engrossed in the novel, “Big Summer” by Jennifer Weiner — until a chuckle came from her computer.

Mr. Miranda had joined the chat room, she said, and saw her flipping pages. After she apologised, the award-winning composer put her at ease.

“He said, ‘Don’t ever apologise for getting lost in a book,’ ” Ms. Lui said. A representative for Mr. Miranda declined to comment.

Elvis Presley impersonator and chapel co-owner Brendan Paul performs a live wedding vow renewal ceremony using the Zoom videoconferencing. Couples can invite up to 100 guests to watch their ceremony live via Zoom. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

— Wall Street Journal