A resurfaced skit taking on the all too familiar awkwardness of online conference calls has taken off on TikTok this week, just as Brits head back to the office.
The hilarious three-minute clip sees comics enacting the cringey moments which blight all virtual conversations as though they were in real life.
It covers just a handful of the terrible moments which get in the way of a normal working day, like colleagues talking over each other, people getting locked out of calls in the middle of a sentence or getting interrupted by distractions at home.
At one stage, someone keeps getting cut off every other word, while the background noises from each person’s microphone provides yet another obstacle to general communication.
Perhaps the best line is the closing one, when someone notes that a recap email will be sent out ”that could basically have taken the place of this whole meeting”.
The excruciating parody has been widely shared on TikTok recently as the public latched onto its hilarious takes of working life.
Some accounts commented “this was stressful to watch coz it’s true”, “this is a masterpiece, I’m crying laughing” and “this is the most accurate thing I’ve seen”.
People have started identifying themselves in the clip as well – such as “the one who is always on mute” – as they share in the pain of remote working.
The video – produced by comics Tripp and Tyler – actually hit YouTube in 2014, but has since got racked up than 22 million views.
The parody’s popularity on TikTok also shows that everyone has been able to relate to the experience, as conference calls became a staple of everyday life during lockdown.
And even though that everyone is starting to return to the office, the rise in flexible working means – unfortunately – conference calls are unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon.