Gen Z employee joins Zoom call in face mask, towel; CEO’s reaction goes viral: ‘This is called work life balance’

At a team call, RemoteStar CEO Naresh Harwani was surprised to see one of his youngest employees appear on screen wearing a bright green neem face mask.

What was supposed to be just another routine online meeting turned into an unexpected moment for RemoteStar CEO Naresh Harwani.

During a team call last Friday, he was surprised to see one of his youngest employees, 21-year-old Vartika Bisht, appear on screen wearing a bright green neem face mask and wrapped in a towel.

For a brief moment, Harwani paused, seemingly unsure how to react.

Then, breaking the silence, he asked, “What face pack is that?”
“Neem,” Bisht replied casually, even suggesting, “You should try some.”
A third person asked, “How are the others controlling their laughter?” A fourth individual added, “This is called work life balance.”
The company later posted a follow-up video on Instagram, revealing that the entire scene had been a planned prank.

On learning the truth, Harwani simply smiled and admitted, “It was a good one.” He also remarked that he now better understands why many employees prefer to keep their cameras switched off during online meetings.

Bisht later told Moneycontrol that she had only joined the company three months ago and agreed to the prank because of the supportive workplace culture.

“I probably would not have done anything like this at any other company,” she said, adding that the team’s friendly nature made her comfortable going along with the idea.

Harwani, meanwhile, told Moneycontrol that he doesn’t mind light-hearted moments at work as long as they don’t affect productivity.

Running a bootstrapped startup can be stressful, he noted, and allowing employees to have fun can help strengthen team bonds — especially since more than 90 per cent of his workforce belongs to Gen Z.

Having led RemoteStar for six years, he also emphasised the importance of younger talent.

According to him, startups benefit from their fresh thinking and energy.

“When you’re building a startup, you need fresh minds and that energy… Moreover, with the ongoing AI disruption, Gen Zs are very much equipped to deal with the business,” he said.