New mom said she was pumping milk and asked to stay off-camera. The meeting lead refused — so she turned it on in front of 18 people
The woman's malicious compliance brought a new camera policy to her workplace
Being a woman in the workplace has its challenges, but being a working mom adds a new set of struggles. A mom (u/own-technician8023) experienced just that when she returned to work after maternity leave. During a Teams meeting, the agency lead asked everyone to turn on their cameras. In fact, everyone needed to turn their cameras on to make the call feel like an in-person meeting. Once, the meeting coincidentally overlapped with the author's pumping session. Not to miss it, the new mom joined the call with her video off, only for the agency lead to remind everyone to turn their cameras on. Frustrated, the new mom turned on her camera and left everyone shocked. The post, shared on September 13, 2026, has received 957 upvotes on Reddit.
They insisted that cameras stay on, so my breast pump attended the meeting
by u/Own-Technician8023 in InterviewVip
The awkward meeting
The author managed several public health research projects, and one of the teams she worked with was an extremely demanding federal agency. She had just returned to work after maternity leave and was balancing her work life while managing a newborn. She wrote, "I work from my private office twice a week, where I pump every few hours while handling emails and reports." During one of their Teams calls, the agency lead asked everyone to turn on their cameras while she was in the middle of a pumping session. Luckily, her pump was "wearable and hands-free," but it made a noticeable mechanical noise. But despite that, the new mom joined the meeting with her camera and mic off.
The camera policy backfires
However, the agency lead said everyone has to switch on their cameras. "The call was supposed to simulate an in-person meeting," she explained. But since the top of the pump was visible, the author privately messaged the lead explaining the situation. However, she never got a reply. Instead, the lead kept asking everyone to turn on their cameras. "Fine. I turned on my camera in front of about 18 people, unmuted myself so the sound of the pump could be heard, and said, 'Thank you for waiting. I was adjusting my breast pump,'" the author recalled.
People were stunned to see her, and several managers asked her to turn off her camera through private message. But all 18 of her coworkers had already seen her pump. Her malicious compliance prompted managers to change their camera policy. During the next meeting, they said, "Please use your camera if you feel comfortable doing so."
Mom at work
Online work meetings are here to stay, but people are still debating whether they should have their cameras on or off. A 2023 YouGov survey asked respondents about turning off cameras during virtual work meetings and found a majority (38%) said it was unacceptable. Similarly, another Korn Ferry study found that 76% of those who kept their cameras off were "looked upon negatively" while 60% agreed that not turning on one's camera was a "career minimizing move."
Meanwhile, Amanda, a finance professional, shared her story of returning to work four months after giving birth. She said it took her around 40 minutes to pump, and her boss was concerned about her "visibility" in the office. Her male colleagues joked about her taking several breaks in the middle of work. She told The Straits Times, "There were leaders who were more willing to start a meeting late because a colleague was just coming back from their smoke break, but wouldn’t be as understanding about a mother who needed to express milk." This explains how unfairly the workplace treats new moms.
'Breastfeeding has its advantages'
Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/random8765309 wrote, "That you were pumping would not have bothered me; however, the mechanical noise would have." u/AdEmpty4390 added, "Well done. I always say 'Fed is best,' but this is a situation where breastfeeding has its advantages."
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