The COVID-19 pandemic caused businesses to shift to remote working. This is to keep their employees safe from the coronavirus. It’s their way of keeping their businesses afloat while slowing the spread of the coronavirus. This caused a growing reliance on technological equipment at home. Thus, more companies relied on tech stores such as Inside Tech. This ensures that their employees could properly do their work in the safe confines of their home.
Remote working, then, popularized video conferences while at home. Our homes also became makeshift offices. But, just because we’re taking professional calls at home, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to maintain professionalism anymore. We still aimed to look smart even through a video call. And so we became conscious as well of our backgrounds. What’s the point of dressing up in smart clothing and doing our hair when our background shows a cluttered kitchen, an unmade bed, or, God forbid, a bathroom?
This is why there’s been a growing trend of using bookcases as our background for video calls. This trend is called the “credibility bookcase.”
What is the Credibility Bookcase
The credibility bookcase is a term coined by Amanda Hess in an article for the New York Times. It’s the use of the bookshelf to show a sense of authority despite the amateurish quality of video conferences.
This trend is especially popular in interviews for TV. Reporters on the news call for experts in various fields such as science and politics all the time. But today, they conduct their interviews through video calls only. But such experts still need to earn the trust of the audience so that their message would make an impact. So they relied on using bookshelves to show that they’re well-read and intelligent.
Some people have criticized this trend, though. They find that credibility bookcase encourages people to use books for aesthetic purposes only. It downgrades the purpose of a book. And it turns it into an ornament for the express purpose of appearing smart and authoritative.
The Popularity of the Credibility Bookcase
People from various industries have used credibility bookcase while conducting Zoom interviews. Late-night talk show hosts such as Stephen Colbert and John Oliver used their bookshelves as background while they delivered their jokes and commentary. News anchors such as Anderson Cooper have also used his bookshelf as a background while he delivered the latest news.
The credibility bookshelf has also made an impact on the U.S. elections. The Democratic National Convention presented their candidates and keynote speakers through Zoom calls. But many of them had bookshelves as their backgrounds. These backgrounds helped them exert a sense of authority and build trust with their audience. These things were crucial because they were trying to win the votes of the public.
As mentioned before, using the credibility bookcase as our background during video calls helps give off a sense of authority. Although there has been some clear criticism against it, we need to understand the root of this trend.
Our background while taking video calls for work matters because we still need to look professional even if we’re just at home. We might be presenting a pitch for a client and trying to win their approval. It wouldn’t help if there’s a dog in the background playing around. It would just distract the people that we’re talking to.
The pandemic may have shaken the world and changed a lot of things, including how we work. But we still need to do what we can to keep the air of professionalism. Even if we’re not physically in the office anymore, we still need to act as if we are in the office.