I’ve worked from home for years.
My entire company is remote, so we have a webcams on policy. That means we turn our cameras on in every meeting. It’s a great way to build a connection with people you have never seen face to face.
I loved this company policy until I saw the little smiling boy.
At first, I thought my coworker Toni was pranking me. I said something like, “Oh, looks like you have some cute company?” but she gave me a weird look and let out an awkward laugh. I apologized and went on with the meeting. Maybe she didn’t want to call attention to her kid on the call. I’d probably not say anything if my kid were that creepy. It wasn’t until after our call that I remembered Toni doesn’t have a kid, a dog, a plant, or anything.
Then the little boy showed up on other people’s calls: Kevin, Roberto, Sal, and Irina. He looked maybe five or six years old, but I’m terrible at guessing children’s ages. He wore a red t-shirt, white shorts, and black shoes with knee-high blue socks. Sometimes he’d be in the corner or peeking from behind an onscreen plant. He always looked at the camera with an unmoving grin.
Then one day, he was right behind Toni. Right over her shoulder, and I just broke.
“Okay, what is this?” I demanded.
“What is what?” she replied, sounding genuinely alarmed.
“The little smiling boy on everyone’s computer. I can see him right behind you. I know you can see him, too. Come on, Toni. It’s not funny anymore. Is it a filter or app or something?”
“A little smiling boy?” she asked, enunciating the end of each word like you do when you’re talking to a crazy person.
And I just snapped. I ended the call without saying goodbye and took a half-day. A few minutes later, Toni sent me a Slack message asking if I was okay. That was the last time I ever heard from her.
We had an all-hands meeting a week later, and our CEO shared that Toni had passed away. She had a heart attack at her desk. While my colleagues shared a few words, I tried to swallow the guilt of being so rude to her the day she died. Then on the call, I saw the little smiling boy in someone’s video in the grid of webcams.
I reached out to Emily in HR immediately. This stupid inside joke was getting to me, and it felt so inappropriate at Toni’s virtual memorial. Emily agreed to meet right away. She Slacked me her meeting link. I clicked it and waited for her to start the meeting. My blood was boiling. I felt my heart beat faster and my face flush with rage. I quickly wrote the names of the coworkers who had participated. Finally, the meeting started, and we turned on our cameras.
There he was again: the little smiling boy.
Only this time, he was right behind me.
I won’t let her end the meeting. She said that help is on the way.
What do I do?