An office employee who was meant to be working from home thought she was getting away with not being at her desk. That is, until a video call exposed her.

During a ‘serious’ meeting on camera, the worker from Mad Monkey Hostels was inadvertently outed for being away from her home office when she was interrupted by a waiter delivering her a cocktail – right in front of her colleagues’ eyes.

Mortified, she tried to wave away the drink and maintain professionalism on the video call, but the cat was out of the bag: she had been secretly working from a bar.

‘LOL. I’m “working remotely” but the waiter delivered my cocktail on camera. On a TUESDAY,’ she said in the cheeky video.

But just when it seemed the woman would be called out for working from a bar – one of her colleagues turned on her own video camera to confess where she really was.

It turned out the colleague on the call wasn’t at her home desk either – she was actually at the hairdresser getting her hair done.

The woman laughed from her salon chair, foil highlights in progress.

The unexpected WFH footage was shared on social mediahinting that team members enjoy truly flexible working arrangements.

The video has been viewed more than 5.1 million times – with hundreds of people weighing in on the amusing moment.

Many people were amused at just how perfectly the bar staff timed the cocktail delivery, with one saying, ‘It being served dead centre of the camera is so funny.’

Another added, ‘I’m crying, he did that on purpose.’

Other viewers cringed at the prospect of being ‘caught out’ having a drink during work hours.

‘The way my soul would leave my body,’ joked one.

‘You can see the genuine fear on her face,’ said another.

But the twist – that the second employee was tuned into the meeting from a salon – really broke the tension.

‘Thought that was bad ’til I saw her at the hairdresser,’ one person said.

Another agreed: ‘My immediate stress and then my immediate relief!’

The top-liked comment simply read: ‘The other girl getting her hair done,’ followed by a laughing emoji.

The viral video sparked a lively conversation about the realities of remote work.

‘If the work gets done, who cares about the location,’ argued one.

‘I don’t care where you work from or what you do during work hours as long as the job gets done,’ said one woman.

‘People think they are paying you for your time, but that’s not even close to the case, you’re paid for what you bring to the table.’

Many admitted to being envious of such flexible jobs.

‘I’m dead serious, what are THESE JOBS???’ asked one person

‘Where can I send my CV?’ joked another, adding a cocktail emoji.

‘Now this is what working remotely is all about,’ said a third.

‘I’m so jealous,’ confessed one person, adding that their own vocation doesn’t offer the option to work from home.

However, not everyone was delighted by the video. A handful worried that moments like this are why companies are reining in remote work privileges.

‘Can’t imagine why they want us back in the office,’ one dry response read.

‘This is the ammo they’ll be using to stop WFH,’ cautioned another.

Others shared their own tales of being sprung at beauty appointments when they were supposed to be ‘working from home’.

‘HR video called me during my nail appointment and the UV light gave it away,’ confessed one worker.

‘(M)y camera accidentally opened while I was getting my lashes done,’ another admitted.

Even a hairdresser noted: ‘The amount of clients I have who are “at work” while getting their service done.’

Remote work, it seems, isn’t always what it appears on camera.