'I've seen someone fake a frozen screen': 25 Clever employees refusing to be on screen for video calls

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 23, 2026 3:15 PM EDT

Why do CEO's love staring at everyone's face on the company-wide video calls? 

The modern workplace is fraught with nuances that your average medieval peasant could never understand. Hybrid schedules, lunch breaks, and cubicle drama aside, the biggest concept for contention in the workplace has become the fated webcam. Managers, bosses, and higher-ups insist that their employees show their faces on virtual meetings, invading their homes on screen and demanding their employees reveal the inner workings of their living room, home office, or even the coffee shop they decided to work in today. 

But why must we show our faces in a meeting? 

It remains a mystery why C-levels can't fathom a workplace monologue without an audience, but there are many employees who have found a workaround for this conundrum anyway. Many modern employees downright refuse to show their faces on video calls, finding loopholes and virtual backgrounds that reflect their disdain for mandatory meetings that could have been an email. 

Blurry taped cameras, webcam "malfunctions," and uploaded images from a hybrid office are some of the ways that clever employees get out of the vulnerable video call obligation, but there are a few, even better ways to completely hide your personal life from the business world.

I've worked remotely for almost 5 years now, and I've never been a fan of meetings, virtual or in-person. Regardless of the reason for the meeting or its pertinence, I've found that revealing my laptop location, explaining my new background, and doing unintentional MTV Cribs-style house tours was never a part of my job description. 

Luckily, I like my coworkers, and I like my job, but if I ever felt creeped out by the voyeuristic nature of the modern work-related video call, I'd employ a few of the techniques below to try and staunch the prying eyes of corporate in the sanctity of my home, too. So if you've ever felt weird about taking a call from your cell or blurring your background on a video call for work, you're not alone; at least now you'll be equipped with 25 clever ways to refuse on-screen face time with your workplace on a video call. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10632998400
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  • What's the most unhinged thing someone has done to avoid being put on camera during a video call?
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  • I'll start. We had a company wide Zoom last year and one guy on our team joined from what was clearly his car in a parking garage, bad
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  • lighting, engine sounds in the background, the works. His actual house was like a 10 minute drive from the office. He
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  • just did not want to be on camera in his house for reasons he never explained and nobody asked about.
    via sexybabyxox
  • Another coworker used a virtual background of a generic living room for 6 months until someone accidentally screen shared during a call and
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  • we could see her actual background was the exact same virtual background image she'd been using. She had downloaded a photo of her own living room and
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  • was using it as a filter over her actual living room. To this day nobody knows why. I've also seen someone fake a frozen screen for
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  • so long that the meeting. actually ended before they had to speak. Just sat there totally still for 40 minutes. Not frozen. Just committed.
    via sexybabyxox
  • The length people will go to just to avoid being seen or having to talk is genuinely one of the most relatable and unhinged things about modern office life and I
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  • need to hear your stories because I know I haven't even scratched the surface here
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  • unconventional_ramen I use virtual backgrounds because my house can get messy. I feel like that could be why your coworker used a picture of her living room (presumably clean) so it still looks like her normal background but clean instead of a mess.
    via unconventional_ramen
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    via Canva+ (SDI Productions)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • _guenhwyvar_ . One of my colleagues has a profile picture that's literally a screenshot of him in a zoom meeting, so when his camera isn't on it just looks like he's staring at his laptop.
    via _guenhwyvar_
  • onmy40 I put a few layers of clear tape to make my camera seem blurry and the subsequent ones they sent as replacements because I personally think it's pointless to be on camera for an hour plus long meeting where only one person is allowed to talk.
    via onmy40
  • HotSlag I like to grab screenshots of the background when I actually am in the office, and use that as the background when I'm at home.
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  • Even better is backdrops of the break room, a conference room, the bathroom, etc.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10632997888
    via Canva+ (SDI Productions)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • dustyoldthing ⚫ One of my coworkers didn't want to hear what our boss was telling her, so she got up and walked out of the room. She later claimed her Teams had "froze" but we all saw her walk off the screen.
    via dustyoldthing
  • Desperate5389. My boss loaded a picture of his office as his background. I don't think it's that odd. He looks like he's in his office for all calls.
    via Desperate5389
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    via Canva+ (SDI Productions)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • witchymoon69. My background is a Luke Combs concert
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  • cbelt3. Coworker recorded a video of himself nodding and paying attention for 10 minutes. Made it a dynamic background and watched the meeting on his phone.
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  • Everyone believed it was him until he started laughing and his video was nodding and looking serious.
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  • pemungkah⚫ I used to go for a walk during standup because it would take half an hour, I needed the exercise, and it kept me from getting distracted during the meeting. I ended up doing a lot of my team meetings on a walk because same reasons.
    via pemungkah
  • Tigerelo1208 The only space I had was our bedroom, so behind me was our bed, and to one side the bathroom door that my husband would use many times a day, so I had to use a virtual background and be quick to mute when he flushed the toilet.....
    via Tigerelo1208
  • onefourthofme ⚫ My former boss specifically asked us to use a professional background rather than our actual space when on video calls. I appreciated that.
    via onefourthofme
  • GnomeDilly DooDoo • having to be on a camera for anything. I can screen share and talk and wouldn't care if everyone did the same, i dont need to see a bunch of stupid faces
    via GnomeDillyDooDoo
  • BeachBoundButterfly ⚫ I use a virtual background of my house bc if I'm not home one day I don't want to hear any stupid comments and nosy questions "oh where are you working from today? must be nice" shut чччuppppppp Linda!
    via BeachBoundButterfly

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work from home employee work workplace hybrid
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