Cats, PJs, alien eyes unwelcome as work video calling boom prompts new etiquette

A computer screen shows a technical glitch during a video conferencing session with Appelgren on Zoom in Redwood City, California, US. — Impossible Foods/Handout/Reuters

OAKLAND, California: Andre Hilden, a data architecture consultant in Oakland, California, missed a memo from his company last week requiring employees to use video conferencing for all meetings while working from home.

“I wasn’t showered. I wasn’t shaved. I was dressed, fortunately. And my cat was on top of me,” Hilden said. He later saw new rules set out in the memo banned pets at the virtual meetings.