A large number of people in Spain carry out their work activity in offices. This type of work requires the frequent use of video conferencing tools. Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, the number of users of these tools has increased considerably. Virtual meetings have saved many companies from great financial damage, but they can also be stressful for workers at times..
We explain what the new phenomenon known as Zoom fatigue consists of, what causes it and what you can do to avoid it.
Getting tired of having one meeting after another is nothing new. With the pandemic and the orderly closure of workplaces, many employees felt that the number of meetings would be reduced and that the few that would be online would not cause much stress. After all, they would be comfortably seated at home, connected to the meeting with a couple of clicks, and wouldn't even have to put on their office shoes. However, the use of video conferencing has increased dramatically and it has become clear that video conferencing also causes its own kind of stress and is particularly exhausting..
The new phenomenon has become popularly known as Zoom fatigue .
Zoom is one of the most widespread video conferencing tools and that is why it gave its name to the new phenomenon. Zoom fatigue is not just limited to the fatigue caused by Zoom calls, but is widely used, because any of the alternatives to Zoom that can be used can cause the same symptoms.
There are currently few studies that provide a complete picture to judge how the high number of video conferencing affects employees physically and psychologically. Many considerations are based on individual reports or general feeling..
A study from the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences in Germany is publishing the first results. The study investigated how widespread Zoom fatigue is among Germans who work remotely and the result was that 60% of those surveyed admitted to being familiar with the phenomenon and 15% said they suffered from it permanently.
The study also provides information on the specific symptoms of this phenomenon. Based on these data, Zoom fatigue is more than just normal fatigue. The participants had the following symptoms:
As a result of fatigue, productivity while telecommuting can be impaired and work quality and results can deteriorate .
The importance of the study by the University of Ludwigshafen is still minimal, since it only involved 422 people. But from a psychological point of view, it is easy to show that video conferencing can also be a stressor.
Virtual meetings conducted with a videoconferencing program are practical, but, compared to face-to-face meetings, participants have to face certain psychological challenges . Tackling them challenges our brains, uses up a lot of energy, and can lead to the aforementioned Zoom fatigue.
Although video conferencing has the advantage of allowing us to see the other person's expressions and gestures, our field of vision is still limited . Depending on the angle of the camera, it can be difficult to read the other person's gaze. In meetings with many participants, it is almost impossible to perceive the reactions of everyone in the conversation, as you could in a normal meeting room.
Certain factors such as body language, eye contact, and the speaker's position in the room are non-verbal cues that help us interpret information. In online meetings, our brain is constantly busy compensating for all this missing information . An American study already found in 2008 that this effort can be exhausting.
Mirrors are rarely found in meeting rooms, and for good reason: many people don't get along with their own image. In online meetings, on the contrary, your own image is always present on the screen . This causes us to be very aware of our appearance, often becoming very critical, so that some users may feel uncomfortable and insecure. They will want to check, for example, if their clothes fit them or if they look professional enough. These thoughts not only increase Zoom's fatigue, but also distract the participants, who should attend to the lecture content.
Despite the expansion of high speed internet and fiber optic network, speed issues still exist in video conferencing. One study showed that even a second delay in broadcasting can put a strain on the human brain. And not only that: when this happens, we tend to perceive our interlocutor as less attentive, which can influence the course of the conference.
Apart from technical problems, communication through these types of tools makes people trust each other less and make understanding more difficult , as a study on the effects of videoconferencing on asylum applications showed to the Canadian Department of Immigration and Refugees.
Another disadvantage is that you cannot have direct visual contact with the person you are talking to, since for this you have to look at the camera, which means not being able to see the interlocutor. Eye contact is important for gaining attention and building trust.
Meeting participants often consciously or unconsciously try to compensate for this lack of non-verbal communication and still create interpersonal relationships. This mental work exhausts and causes Zoom's fatigue.
In an in-person meeting, it is quite difficult to check emails, appointments or send messages while a colleague is giving a presentation. When you are alone at the computer, you do not notice if your gaze drifts and goes to other programs or pages. Especially in long meetings, participants tend to work on other tasks . They try to increase productivity, even though multitasking can tire and affect the quality of work.
Despite all these inconveniences derived from virtual meetings, you can adopt certain preventive measures.
To avoid Zoom fatigue, it can help to check how many video conferences are actually required . Do all team members have to participate in all meetings? Would a weekly call to discuss all the issues suffice?
If you cannot reduce the number of meetings, you should at least try to limit the duration of each one. Experts advise not to have meetings of more than 45 minutes and to organize them in such a way that the participants can take a break of at least 15 minutes between meetings. In this way, the brain can recover from this digital strain.
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In general, video conferencing has been abused to replace in-person meetings. In many cases, they are not the best option.
If it is a mere transfer of information and the interlocutors know each other well, a phone call can give better results. Participants can focus on the information, they are less lost in self-criticism, and their brain will be less busy analyzing the other participants.
A video conference is more suitable to meet someone or when the personal level plays an important role. Despite its disadvantages, the video meeting is the best format for a personal meeting. With a few tips, you can run efficient business meetings.
Telecommuting will never go back to the way it was after the pandemic, so Zoom fatigue will continue to be a challenge companies will have to face if they want their teams to work together effectively.
Companies should not consider the proper use of video conferencing as an exclusive responsibility of the employee, but should introduce rules to establish a clear organizational framework in the team . In this way, security will be generated, productivity will be strengthened and the health of employees will be protected, so that everyone will win.