Our thinking

Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Teams

22 November, 2024

At Good Business, we celebrate birthdays with a team-wide virtual meeting, and it’s common practice to pop on a jazzy Microsoft Teams video effect for the occasion. We’ve been delighted (if bemused) by the ability to add a little joy to the working day by placing virtual animated chickens on our heads or sending ourselves into outer space. 

And this week (happy birthday Giles!), we stumbled across the MS Teams Maybelline filters which allow users to virtually apply makeup for video calls. This is not a new feature – it first launched in summer 2023 – but it’s new to us, and it’s stirred up some discussion within the office.  

The discourse around makeup – seen both as a tool of self-expression but also as a practice driven by harmful beauty standards – is a nuanced one. But it’s undeniable that makeup has a complicated role in the workplace, where women are more likely than men to see their professional success dictated by their personal grooming habits. Add to that the known effect of beauty filters on women’s mental health, and the Maybelline filters seem like a curious feature for a professional tool.  

For us, it’s another reminder that businesses should be conscious of the messages they may inadvertently perpetuate through the products and services they offer. The post-Covid workplace has seen big changes in expectations around dress, both at home and in the office. It would be a shame for some of those to come creeping back in in a way that could be harmful to mental health and self-image.  

By Louise Podmore