As technology has progressed over the years, business meetings no longer have to take place at oblong conference tables with pens, papers and dubious amounts of coffee.
With more and more professionals communicating with co-workers and partners overseas, teleconferencing is now the foremost mode of communication for these jet-setting individuals.
Women, in particular, face the modern-day challenge dubbed the “appearance barrier” that nods to the particular angst one feels when getting distracted by their own looks on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
This can be alarming as we all have made the mistake of opening Snapchat while on the bus. When the front-facing selfie camera suddenly pops up, the double chins are far from pretty.
So what has the technological world done to fix this modern ailment? Put a filter on it, obviously.
Japanese cosmetic company Shiseido Co. has paired with Microsoft to develop the TeleBeauty app, which will run experimentally on Skype for Business. It enables telecommuters to choose from four pre-set makeup options — natural, trendy, cool or feminine.
First off, these are relatively blasé names. What separates trendy from cool? And why would one want to look trendy or cool on a business call? You’re not Skyping in to play a concert at Coachella.
Secondly, the Editorial Board is extremely weary of such a product simply because it involves technology. We all know it bites back.
According to the Japan Times, Shiseido spokeswoman Megumi Koyoma explained that the digital makeup will sync with real-time movements, “unless the face moves wildly.”
We’re not saying it’s typical to suddenly start convulsing and contorting your face during a business call, but it could happen. Ever heard of spiders?
This is yet another example of a tech product that is good in theory.
In the interview, Koyoma said colleagues had trouble putting makeup on for videoconferences that were coming at odd hours from overseas.
If it actually worked, this feature would be helpful for those individuals who have to speak about mergers and acquisitions early in the morning.
The Japanese government wants to push telecommuting in order to help women achieve a healthy work-family balance.
Recent telecommuting statistics from Global Workplace Analytics show that at least 80 to 90 percent of the U.S. workforce would enjoy working from home at least part time.
If this is the case, then let’s drop the act. Having a perfectly contoured, highlighted and powdered face shouldn’t be of the utmost importance during a webcam business meeting.
Maybe we’re romantics, but intellect can’t be swept under the rug. The heart of contemporary professionalism shouldn’t rest in a woman’s outward appearance.
It’s one thing to wear makeup as a confidence booster, but it’s another to have to wear it if it’s a burden.
At the end of the day, this is your job. Do you really want to risk it all by putting it in the hands of technology?
The stakes are too high and you can’t really laugh it off when a concerned co-worker asks about your black eye, which in reality is just the purple eyeshadow mistakenly straying below your eyelid a bit.
