‘Hot mic!': 20+ Most hilarious moments WFH employees forgot to mute themselves during a company call

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Mar 28, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

With modern technology comes modern problems. We're all just learning on the job and that's the truth. Zoom wasn't really a thing until everyone was forced to work from home. And working from home was hardly even a thing before then too! We did not know what we were getting into, but we're dealing with it. And when trying out new things, there are some issues. That's how we all learn and grow! 

 

So, when WFH jobs started becoming the regular, video conference calls did too. So, employees and employers had to learn how to function within this new technology to keep the business moving. 

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  • So don't feel bad if you are in the middle of a giant conference video call with all of the upper management and big wigs and you forget that your mic is on, so you yell at your dog. And everyone goes silent. And then you see the dread green mic icon that says you just scream “CUT IT OUT, BOOGER” to all of your bosses and now you're asking yourself why you named your dog booger and omg. How embarrassing… Sorry! We mean, don't worry. It's totally fine. Again, we're all just figuring it out as we go. Just see exampled of others doing just that below! 

  • D A 6666666 M Z х S D C fn ctri 1 cmd эс A 4 M
    via Unsplash+ (and Compare Fibre)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "TIFU by forgetting my AirPods were connected during an important Zoom meeting"

    So this happened earlier today, and I still want to crawl into a hole. I work remotely, and we had a big Zoom meeting with several higher-ups in attendance. I was just listening in, so I muted myself and decided to grab a quick snack from the kitchen. My AirPods were in, and I was still connected to the meeting while I rummaged through my cabinets.
    via lexithebaddie-_-
  • Now, my dog has this habit of sneaking into the kitchen whenever I open a bag of chips. So as soon as I ripped open a bag, I whispered, "You sneaky little b Ird, I see you." Except... I wasn't whispering to myself. I was still connected to the meeting.
    via lexithebaddie-_-
  • I didn't realize anything was wrong until I heard de d silence, followed by my manager saying, "Uh... who are you talking to?" At this point, I froze. I checked my screen, and sure enough, the little green microphone icon was ON. I panicked and blurted out, "Oh, uh... my dog."
    via lexithebaddie-_-
  • Cue awkward laughter from a few people, but I could tell some of the higher-ups were NOT amused. One of them dryly said, "Let's try to keep the side conversations to a minimum." The worst part? The meeting was being RECORDED for future reference. So now, my little outburst is officially immortalized in company history.
    via lexithebaddie-_-
  • TL;DR Forgot my AirPods were - connected, called my dog a sneaky b rd during an important Zoom meeting, and now it's recorded forever.
    via lexithebaddie-_-
  • RiceHamburger-Esq I was on a call with like 30+ attorneys and someone interjected in the middle of a super boring presentation: "oh my god what is in your mouth?!? is that my god is that ?? oh ? oh no" and then she realized her mic was on and cut it. We all di d laughing! The presenter took a break and asked us to vote on whether we thought she was taking to a toddler or a dog. (it was a dog, but she did also have a toddler!)
    via RiceHamburger-Esq
  • anomaly33 I was once on a call with a couple hundred people. Someone decided to take a sh without muting. grunt sploosh
    via an0maly33
  • _crimebrulee One of my dogs is a big girl - and she can be very demanding when she wants a cuddle. I was in a call in December, going over my plans for the first quarter, when she decided that I wasn't paying her enough attention. She got up on her hind legs, fully in the view of my colleagues, and whacked me, hard, in the shoulder.
    via _crimebrulee
  • Cheezburger Image 10486043904
    via Unsplash+ (and Erin Vey)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Everyone thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. One of my colleagues likes going, "So, hey, is your dog going to hit you again today?" whenever we log on.
    via _crimebrulee
  • jugstopper My son was learning from home during the CO ID pan mic as a university piano performance major (super awkward.) He had to do his junior recital remotely. During a very dramatic pause in a piece, our chihuahua very audibly gacked under the piano. Somehow, my son finished the piece. even though he was cracking up with hysteria. The performance is now in a recording on the university's website, like all recitals. JOY!
    via jugstopper
  • SavageWit55 I was on a weekly call with all my sales managers. My cat began to rip up paper just out of my reach. I thought I was muted so I yelled, "Stop it!" Turns out I was not muted and I had interrupted one of our VPS talking to the group. Fun times!
    via SavageWit55
  • Patricio Guapo I had a similar thing a couple years back. Coworker asked me a question and I replied "Oh H L no. I got real sh to do!" My boss came out after absolutely howling with laughter about it.
    via Patricio_Guapo
  • grooved I was chairing a (recorded) quarterly planning call last week with a few higher ups and both teams I manage. Split across UK, USA and India. My wife very kindly brought me some lunch while I was scribbling down some. notes at one side of my desk. Everyone else saw her approach on camera - I looked up to see her right beside me and got the fright of my life.
    via gr00ved
  • Cheezburger Image 10486051840
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "JESUS, F ME SIDEWAYS!" in a Scottish accent is now immortalised in my company's archives Lunch was delicious though
    via gr00ved
  • DigbyChickenZone I'm reminded when I was a grad student, and decided to attend a lecture online rather in person - only 30ish people listened in. Most of the students attending via zoom were elsewhere in the state to get this specific credit for their degree, locals were in-person at the lecture. I was 5 minutes away from the auditorium, and usually DID go to this lecturer's class, but stopped going. I just really hated the
    via DigbyChickenZone
  • lecture style and how she bu ied people. Anyway, back to the story - I was listening to a lecture and recall hearing that a student in the lecture hall asked a question, and the bu y teacher was deameaning the student before even answering it. I said, "ugh what a b II when hearing the tirade, and someone (a future lab partner, of all people) THANKFULLY wrote to me on the chat, "hot mic!"
    via DigbyChickenZone
  • I say this all because I still do not know if most people knew I was the "hot mic" girl. I got A+s, good references (!), and no feedback about my "attitude" from the professors of that course, but... I still wonder if they recognized my voice when I called a lecturer a b over zoom for the entire class to hear. If they heard it and thought, "well, yeah. Fair point."
    via DigbyChickenZone
  • Pretty_Kitty99 I was on the meeting in my car on the way to work. Cars suddenly banked up and I said "why are we stopped?!? Of course, you're all going into the ¡ coffee place!" Of course it was recorded, so colleagues had a great time listening back. I apologies to the Prin, life went on.
    via Pretty_Kitty99
  • Liveandletlive-11 I teach a training class to adults everyday via Zoom - once I was watching my sister's English mastiff puppy and he started to chew on my headphone cord. I didn't notice he unmuted me so I said "stop chewing on that you little f able to save the day by turning on my camera so everyone could see the little. f " I was
    via Liveandletlive-11

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