I got stuck on a lunchtime video conference today with some people in my department and a vendor. I hate meetings at noon, but with timezones being a factor, it was the only available time the vendor could meet. Usually, I’m only on these for technical consultation, so I rarely need to speak other than to clarify a point or answer questions about our infrastructure. Those are usually toward the end of the meeting.
That said, I just muted myself and ate at my desk because I was starving and would have plenty of time to eat a quick bite before it got to the point where I had to say anything.
What I did not realize was that even though I was muted, my webcam was on. So 6 people I work with plus three vendors all watched me eat a bag of tacos, and no one said anything!
Like, when I eat a taco with people around, I do eat it in a dignified way. Less so when I’m alone (or think I’m alone) and wolfing it down before I have to do something So, yeah, it was not a pretty sight.
I’m still mortified, but at least I am laughing about it as I’m typing this out.
Don’t worry about it. If the room was big enough, many of them didn’t see you, and half of the ones you did probably thought it was just a flex to show your annoyance with being dragged into a lunchtime meeting. In any case, 95% of people would laugh it off and forget it, and the other 5% are probably well within the “meet an asshole everyday” crowd. With the camera on, they at least know you were there in front of your computer. My coworkers might not always be able to say the same thing about me on some of my larger calls where I’m just there so our org “has presence.”