My son is beyond the age where I need to worry about him interrupting a Zoom call but I do recall the day when he was a toddler, and I hung up on a potential client because the kid was about to do a swan dive off the brick barbecue onto the concrete. Let’s just say that little ones have and will always find a way to interrupt our work from home.
But during the pandemic, Zoom is frequently necessary to keep teams on track and clients satisfied. We all want to be professional, but how do you avoid family interruptions and what do you do if your kid does show up to your Zoom meeting?
Plan ahead for your calls and talk to your kids beforehand
Things happen! Keep your cool if you do get interrupted
If you feel ashamed and embarrassed, you’ll increase your child’s anxiousness and stress level. A quick and direct apology may apply if you had to refocus your attention momentarily, but don’t repeatedly apologize for your child interrupting a Zoom call. Before the pandemic in 2017, we all fell in love with the Kelly family as dad, Robert, was doing a live interview on television from his home office when his toddlers bolted in. Kelly was noted saying, “Our children were 9 months and 4 years old, respectively, at the time. I cannot imagine trying to coordinate anything this complicated with children of that age. Sorry, it was just a legitimate family blooper.”
Mr. Kelly was super cool through the entire escapade which lasted what must have seemed like an eternity until his wife wrangled the kids. He continued his interview with the undertone of, "Nothing to see here. Just a dad and his kids getting it done." And that is what we should aspire for in terms of our attitude when kids do interrupt us.
Interruptions are bound to happen, so it couldn't hurt to have a pre-emptive talk with your supervisor. "If you're expected to do professional work from home, stay in touch with your boss about how and when you expect to get things done," Dr. Laura Markham advised on Psychology Today. "Your boss knows that you and everyone else now has kids to deal with and will give you some slack, especially if you answer communications in a timely way and set reasonable expectations about when you will get to things that are asked of you."
Let’s face it, we all know there is some unwritten zoom meeting etiquette. But superseding that is the knowledge that we are all facing work-from-home, school-from-home scenarios in unprecedented ways. Address your child if necessary and then continue on with your meeting.
And if your child insists on sitting on your lap, well, that just might be the winning edge you need for your meeting. That moment when I hung up on a potential client left me embarrassed to call him back. I was shocked when he laughed and said, “You have your priorities set right,” and awarded me the gig. You’re a mom with a wonderful family — embrace that even when working.
