Modern Meeting Etiquette: Wear Pants, Beware Of Tech Lag, Chat Sparingly

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Eating in your kitchen on Zoom? Mumbling jokes in the conference room during a hybrid video call? In this new phase of hybrid work, the rules of acceptable meeting behavior can be tricky.

For years, most office workers held their meetings in person, with the occasional phone conference call to include people working elsewhere. But all that changed during the pandemic, when most meetings went entirely virtual using video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Now, our bad pandemic habits may be conveying messages we don’t mean to send.

“We all did a lot of video calling, and that breeds contentment,” said Liz Wyse, author of the “Hybrid Working Guide” at Debrett’s, a British professional coaching company that specializes in etiquette. “Everyone’s standards have slipped.”

So what are the modern expectations for meetings?

Always wear pants

Virtual meetings changed the way we think about dressing for meetings — in some cases it meant business on top and pajamas on bottom. But experts say no matter how enticing it may be to participate without pants, don’t do it.

“You never know when you’re going to have to pop up [out of your seat],” said Diane Gottsman, the San Antonio-based owner of the professional etiquette training company the Protocol School of Texas. “We have to anticipate that something is going to happen even if it probably won’t.”

Consider your overall appearance, said Julia Esteve Boyd, a Switzerland-based etiquette consultant. Your dress code may be a little more informal if you’re on a video call with colleagues, but with clients or executives, you may want to dress up.

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