To feel self-conscious taking my mask off at work?

[facemaskss]

At work, a new department opened a few months ago and so for me and my colleagues we have only ever known each other since face masks were compulsory.

It is very weird to know a colleague so well and personally and yet not know what their face looks like aside from occasional brief glimpses in the break room when we are eating/drinking.

For some reason I feel self-conscious removing my mask in the break room when my colleagues are there as I wonder what they expected my face to look like and whether it's better or worse than they expected(!)

I also find sometimes when I see a colleague's face and it's not what I expected it kind of throws me off and I feel like I don't recognise them.

Does anyone else relate?

Don’t be ridiculous 😂

I volunteer at a vaccine hub and I've met loads of people (medical staff and volunteers) and only seen them with masks on. When I see them without masks it can be a surprise, because they look different than I imagined them. I took my mask down last week, because a patient needed to lip read and my colleague said "oh, I didn't think you looked like that". I don't know if I look better or worse than she expected, but it doesn't really matter.

However, it's just yet another strange Covid-related thing we have to put up with and I think you should try not to worry about it.

Holy Jesus 🤣🤣🤣.

I got a new healthcare job kid covid and have found the same. I change wards a lot, will work with someone my whole shift then not recognise them in the break room, I don’t get self conscious as such, but definitely get surprised by what people look like

This is a new low in the already dire Covid situation

@FelicityBeedle

I got a new healthcare job kid covid and have found the same. I change wards a lot, will work with someone my whole shift then not recognise them in the break room, I don’t get self conscious as such, but definitely get surprised by what people look like

Yes, maybe self-conscious was the wrong word to use but I always wonder when they look at me how did they expect me to look.

It's interesting how the brain almost fills in the gaps when we see someone in a face mask to what we expect them to look like. I have been surprised by most people that they are not what I expected they look like and I may not initially recognise them.

I started a new job during lockdown where masks are compulsory and can somewhat relate. It’s easy to see what someone looks like on their work ID, social media or if they show you photos on their phone in passing etc so it hasn’t been an issue.

I think my lips/jaw are my better features so I could look different than imagined with a mask off, but my makeup underneath partially fades away so I probably look worse actually!

I’m not self conscious about taking my mask off though, or about people seeing my face for the first time. I think it’s rude to tell someone they look unexpected or similar as it’s going to give someone a complex about their looks eg do they look better with the mask on.

YABU nobody cares.

It doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to envisage what someone’s mouth/chin looks like, and unless you have black teeth and a full beard, I really don’t think your colleagues are giving your unmasked face much thought.

@AgentProvocateur

It doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to envisage what someone’s mouth/chin looks like, and unless you have black teeth and a full beard, I really don’t think your colleagues are giving your unmasked face much thought.

I think you’d be surprised actually. I’ve been very surprised by what some people look like under their mask and I totally get what @facemaskss is saying.

I recognise a lot of patients and people even though they are wearing face masks. I think we only look at the eyes when recognising who people are, well I do anyway. The rest of the face is irrelevant.

Not sure why posters are being so rude as this is a really interesting point.

I don’t work in that kind of environment so it’s not something I’ve faced, but it’s interesting how our brains make assumptions about appearance based on what data we have. It’s like when you speak on the phone, have a picture based on their voice but then meet and their nothing like you imagine.

I could imagine being quite surprised when I’ve built up an image of the complete face in my head for months when they reveal their face and they have a cleft chin, beauty spot and a crooked nose when I’d been assuming something very different.

Reminds me of this: (Saturday Night Live skit)

I got surprise bearded by a few men on my team when I changed jobs. Genuinely didn’t recognise them as didn’t expect it under the mask!

Why is it rude to disagree? I couldn't care less what people look like or have a mental image of them without masks.

I don't think you should be ashamed or embarrassed of how you look, but people may be surprised, as you may be with them. A couple of times in the summer when visiting museums you would see someone remove their face covering when in the cafe and it could be surprising.

I think maybe because I work in a job where I'm with my colleagues 12 hours a day wearing masks that that's why I have found this to be more a thing than others who have perhaps known their colleagues before masks were a thing. I think the extended time with people and getting to know their personalities also makes it more likely that you start to build a mental image of what you expect their face to look like. I know my colleagues really well and would class some of them as friends and yet I don't know what their face looks like! It's an interesting concept, I guess similar to people forming online friendships/relationships without meeting.

I always assumed that the eyes were the most important part of someone's face anyway so I have been surprised how how much the rest of the face affects the way someone looks.

I also think people's faces give us impressions of their personality too. On a similar note, when wearing face masks all day my colleagues and I have found we all deliberately smile with our eyes more and laugh more than we usually would as a normal polite smile doesn't come across when you're wearing a mask. Similarly you can't smile at someone you pass in the corridor so usually we say 'hi' or do a little wave when before it would just be a polite smile.