Let's Talk About Perceptions
I want to talk about perception and presentation. Specifically about how we often judge people based on their appearance. It makes sense because when we date, the majority of us gravitate towards people we find visually appealing. On dating apps decisions are made in milliseconds based on appearance. The same thing happens in professional settings and how we appear matters. How we looked going to a meeting, how we shook someone’s hand. Or it did, until March 2020. So let’s have a look at some of the things we’ve seen change.
We are no longer physically present
March 2020 saw the entire working world suffer an upheaval which has led to huge cultural and professional shifts. Some workplaces have gone fully remote, permanently, others have gone temporarily remote, and others are offering a hybrid of working arrangements. What this means is that traditional organisations are now having to handle their staff remotely, many of them for the first time.
This is one of my ‘professional’ headshots
This has posed interesting challenges and has ultimately shown where the cracks are in your organisation’s approach to management and operations. On the flip side, it has also led to a more humanistic approach to management. Well, sometimes. We've been privy to a bit more of an insight into our colleagues' lives than before. We are literally seeing a glimpse into their homes as they sign into Zoom calls.
This has meant that your manager (rightly) is now another human being, just like you. Working from home, just like you. We've all seen the photos of laptops on ironing boards and pets wandering around in the background. This is the reality of our home lives and actually, our home lives have always been filled with other people and responsibilities, but when we all lumped into offices together, this side of our lives was hidden. Our personal lives were removed so that if you nipped out to take a personal call, it was obvious.
We no longer feel as pressured to present ourselves
Like many self-employed freelancers, I've worked remotely for a long time. My clients have always communicated with me over email and phone. I've been working this way since I started Specky Scribbler in 2017. Working for yourself, from home, can be isolating and it can sometimes feel like I'm so far removed from the team I'm working with, but I've been doing it for a long time now, so I was able to adapt. But not everyone liked or welcomed the change.
At this stage, most people have adapted, whether we’ve wanted to or not. We haven’t had much of a choice. We've adapted to working from our sitting rooms with our home life merged with our working life. We’ve fallen out of bed, worked from bed, worked with the TV on in the background. We know that Zoom is part and parcel of our working day and that yes, dangly earrings look fantastic, but they jingle and rub off our headphone mics. This is also true of hoodies with zips. But this is when the shift in perception comes in.
The distance between us means that there is less pressure to feel pristinely polished. In fact, since March 2020, there have been very small windows in which we could even get our hair cut. Men are growing beards, women are letting their roots grow out. We haven't had much choice in the matter. And that's been great. This has shown that, at the end of the day, our hair is our hair and it doesn't impede on how we work. Because guess what?
How we look doesn't impact on our professionalism
I have purple hair but still get my work done
In the creative world, no one really wears a suit and tie. I haven't worn a pencil skirt to a meeting since 2015. This shift has been taking place for years; the cool creatives rocking up to a meeting in jeans and t-shirt. Now, we're all at home working from our bedrooms, attics, sitting rooms. Many people are secretly wearing tracksuit bottoms or leggings.
We're still getting our work done. We might be working different hours than before, but we're getting our work done. Even though we're wearing tracksuit bottoms with unruly hair. A suit and tie, high heels or natural hair colour doesn't matter. How many people do you know who got bored and bleached their hair during lockdown? Did their hair stop them getting their work done? No.
Of course, it's all personal choice, but personally, I'll get more done while I'm comfortable than if I'm concerned with whether my blouse is sitting properly. I have bright purple hair; it doesn't mean I don't know how to do my job. In fact, I've gotten a lot of compliments from clients about how much they enjoy my bright hair! They know after speaking with me that I know what I'm talking about. This is what matters. Getting our work done is what matters, whether or not we’re wearing slippers or have tidy hair.