Employees dress up to attend virtual meetings

Something for the weekend: It seems like the days of working from home in pajamas are a thing of the past. Employees are now taking advantage of online shopping and are buying clothes to 'attend' their business video calls, according to research by e-commerce agency Melody.

With after drinks with colleagues all but fizzled out, employees are finding new reasons to get their glad rags on. Out of 2,000 employees surveyed, just over one in ten (12%) confessed to buying new work clothes specifically so they could look good on camera when they are meeting with their colleagues or clients.

However, it is not all about the work wardrobe, employees are finding other ways to make a good impression. 14% of employees have revealed they have bought items to make their home office 'look good'. Maybe an encyclopedia or two will give the impression of knowledge or flowers to make their space look more welcoming perhaps? And it seems, the younger you are, the more your office backdrop counts. 21% of employees aged 16-34 work on creating an aesthetically pleasing workspace.

The same goes for buying office equipment. Millennials are not settling for working around the kitchen table. Almost one third (28%) have splashed their cash on home office supplies or equipment since lockdown with desks, printers and webcams being the must-have items.

In future, here at Employee Benefits, we will be paying particular attention to what our team members are wearing in video meetings and what that plant pot in the background really means...