‘What face pack is that’: The viral Zoom moment that exposed a generational shift at work

The rest of the team dissolved into barely suppressed laughter. Somebody hit record. The clip made it online and promptly exploded, racking up over millions of views, thousands of comments, and a debate that was far bigger than Bisht’s skincare routine.

It later emerged that the whole thing had been a planned prank, with Bisht admitting she’d only gone along with it because of the culture at RemoteStar. “I probably would not have done anything like this at any other company,” she told Moneycontrol, crediting the team’s supportive nature. Harwani, for his part, smiled when he found out. “It was a good one,” he said and remarked that he now better understands why so many employees prefer to keep their cameras off.

 

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For Harwani, who has been running his bootstrapped startup for six years with a workforce that is more than 90 per cent Gen Z, such moments are less anomalies and more a window into a generation he has come to depend on. “When you’re building a startup, you need fresh minds and that energy… Moreover, with the ongoing AI disruption, Gen Zs are very much equipped to deal with the business,” he said.

But the viral clip did more than generate laughs. It cracked open a conversation that workplaces across the country are having: what does professionalism actually look like in today’s day and age?

‘Professionalism, for us, isn’t constant performance anymore’

For many Gen Z professionals, the answer is simple. Ajay Tomar, 26, watched the video and felt nothing but recognition. “I honestly found it completely normal. If anything, the outrage around it feels more outdated than the behaviour itself,” he told indianexpress.com. For him, the clip embodied something his generation has been trying to articulate for years. “Professionalism, for us, isn’t constant performance anymore. It’s about being real, present and accountable in the workplace. A small human moment couldn’t be a statement of someone’s competency in the work – rather, it would make the work more real than acting artificial.”

Tomar also pushed back on the idea that remote work has simply blurred lines that should stay clean. “It’s less about blurred boundaries and more about re-defining what actually matters. Wearing a mask, eating or sipping a coffee isn’t anti-professionalism – it’s normal. Something that must be normalised as long as it’s not signalling disrespect or disengagement.”

Janki U Tandon, 20, who describes herself as often the youngest person in the rooms she walks into, read the moment similarly but with a shade of nuance. “I didn’t read the face mask and drink as unprofessional as much as a quiet pushback against the expectation to always appear performing,” she said. That said, she’s careful not to flatten the conversation. “There’s a difference between being human and being disengaged. The risk is when ‘casual’ becomes a default regardless of the setting, because some level of boundary still helps maintain mutual respect.”

Not everyone in the cohort is uniformly relaxed about it. Anoushka Dilipkumar, 24, admitted her first reaction was shock. “In remote work environments, the few moments when your video is on and when you speak are the moments when people form impressions about you. Those impressions tend to stick.” Nisha Popli, a Gen Z PR manager, added, “We can’t justify everything in the name of being Gen Z. Authenticity is important, but so is being mindful of how you show up in a professional setting.”

Still, even the more traditional voices in this generation agree that the old rulebook needs updating. Ishita Talwar, 27, who manages younger interns herself, called it “an evolution,” but one with real stakes. “Gen Z is challenging older notions that equate professionalism with rigidity, and that shift toward authenticity and outcome-driven work is valuable. However, there’s also a flip side. At times, this informality can come across as taking things for granted.”

What managers think

For millennial managers, the clip landed somewhere between amusement and mild discomfort.

Brand consultant Pooja Saha laughed when she saw it, but drew her own lines quickly. “I don’t really mind if someone is drinking or even sitting with a towel wrapped around their hair while working from home, that’s part of remote culture now. But showing up to a team call with a face mask on or cooking does feel a bit excessive.” Her approach has evolved, though. “I don’t focus as much on where or how the work is being done anymore, what matters to me is the outcome.”

Gen Zs don’t like to pretend, but they tend to present their authentic self. They demonstrate that their value isn’t in their outfit, but it’s in their contribution. (Source: AI Generated)

Ashwarya Singh, an associate director at a marketing firm who has led full Gen Z teams for over four years, laughed too, but noticed something in herself. “My brain is somehow wired to expect more direct communication. I would have smiled too, but yes, it indeed would have made me uncomfortable at first.” Her management style has adapted accordingly, leaning toward outcome-based thinking and coaching her team on navigating across generational styles. “I literally tell them how they can pacify their messages while replying to the management, because Gen Z is literally very direct.”

Ambika Asthana, a podcast founder, saw the manager’s response in the clip as the real story. “I actually think that response was smart. He protected the tone of the room without escalating a moment that did not seem malicious or disruptive.” Her own principle is clear, “Comfort is fine, casualness is fine, but visible disregard is not.” Client-facing calls, senior leadership meetings, and high-stakes situations demand a different register entirely, she added.

Kanav Narayan Sahgal, who manages a team at a Delhi-based non-profit, said she would have handled it slightly differently, with more directness and more humour upfront. But he’s less concerned with the act itself and more with what it points to. “Situations like this may reflect a lack of clear role models or sufficient guidance in the workplace. When cases such as this occur, I would behoove other managers to think more critically about the kind of workplace culture they are building.”

What’s going on, psychologically

Kanak Kejariwal, a psychologist at TheraScreen, argued the face-mask moment reveals something more layered about how Gen Z navigates identity at work. “Gen Zs don’t like to pretend, but they tend to present their authentic self. They demonstrate that their value isn’t in their outfit, but it’s in their contribution.” But she also flagged a quieter anxiety lurking beneath all this apparent confidence. “Even though Gen Zs are considered to be outspoken and respect their personal boundaries, there is still anxiety that if they complain or speak out then their job is at stake.”

Gurleen Baruah, an organisational psychologist at That Culture Thing, is wary of over-attributing this to generation as a variable at all. “It’s not just about younger generations, that’s a broad generalisation. In this context, a young professional showing up casually says more about the setting than the generation.” Her concern is the cost of overcorrection in either direction. “Too loose can create confusion, too rigid can create pressure. The middle ground is what usually works.”

Both experts agreed that the instinct to clamp down with stricter norms risks backfiring. “When one enforces something which is against the values and beliefs of an individual, it becomes control,” said Kejariwal. “It also plays a role in decreasing job satisfaction, leads to learned helplessness and disengagement.”