The coronavirus-era adaptation to working from home is taking its toll on everyone, and now there’s a face for that struggle: Potato boss.
Lizet Ocampo is the political director of People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy organisation that works to build democracy by tackling right-wing extremism and encouraging civic engagement. Like many offices around the country, Ocampo’s is working remotely, conducting team meetings via video conference.
In March, she fell victim to technical difficulties with the filters she had downloaded on Microsoft Teams and was forced to lead her call while appearing as a root vegetable.
“I just kind of gave up and stayed as a potato for the rest of the call,” Ocampo told BuzzFeed News.
Ocampo’s colleague, Rachele Clegg, shared the moment on Twitter:
This incident apparently struck a chord; the post raked in hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets.
Fortunately for Clegg, who was momentarily concerned about how her boss would take the news she was now a Twitter-famous spud, Ocampo welcomed her newfound internet fame:
“The good news is that my boss, Lizet Ocampo, will not be sacking me tomorrow. We hashed it all out tonight and our team is still laughing with you all. STAY PLANTED AT HOME & welcome my potato boss,” wrote Clegg.
Other colleagues were relieved their boss owned her “spudden” fame:
The internet, of course, did as the internet does with their new potato queen, and turned her into a relatable meme: