During the pandemic, many former offices workers were necessarily glued to their computer monitors. With the job migrated online, video tools like Zoom and Google Hangouts have become rare to regulate face to face time with colleagues. But san alternative to seeing your co-workers without a screen on the way, this entire video conference led to an epidemic of “zoom fatigue”.
According to a new study by Stanford researchers published in the newspaper Technology, Mind and Behavior, Zoom fatigue is basically what it sounds like, resulting from the increased strain of keeping connections at bay through video chat-and that leads to exhaustion, stress, and monotony at work. But there are ways to mitigate strangulation video conferencing can have in your spirit.
What is Zoom fatigue?
It does not apply to Zoom specifically, and company executives would probably argue that the term does a disservice to their marketing efforts. According to Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, the problem applies to everyone videoconferencing services. Gin general, describes the fatigue caused by the need feel perpetually connected as you switch between browser windows for multiple Dating. It also makes sense, given that studies have shown that increasing screen time – especially when associated with a sedentary lifestyle – increases your chances of developing moderate to severe depression.
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If you suffer from it, you probably usually drowning in a heavy schedule of virtual meetings, and feeling like you can barely keep your head above the water.
What cause it
Bailenson’s research points to four reasons why video conferencing can be so mentally stressful:
- Intense eye contact is tiring. Looking into your colleagues’ eyes to show that you are paying attention can be a difficult task. Doing this several times a day can be overwhelming. Without making eye contact during most of the meeting, your coworkers may think your attention is waning.
- Watching yourself during video chats is tiring. Attending yourself in a meeting only increases performance anxiety. The psychological cost of living during the pandemic is quite heavy – why exacerbate it with concerns about your colleagues’ appearance?
- Video chats mean that we move less. If you are constantly chained to a table, you are not moving as much as your body needs. At least in a traditional office environment, you may have to walk to a conference room on a different floor. Switching between different videoconferences means that we sit more and move less, at the expense of our mental well-being.
- Non-verbal cues are more difficult to interpret. The challenge of deciphering non-verbal cues only adds to the stress caused through video chats. This can lead to what Bailenson calls “cognitive overload”, where your head may be swimming in the presumed subtext of the conversation.
Ways to combat zoom fatigue
Fortunately, Bailenson did not discover the problems without offering solutions.
- For eye contact: The researcher recommends not using the full screen setting. That way, your colleagues will look at least a little smaller, so you don’t feel so pressured to keep your eyes fixed on theirs.
- For self-awareness: Not really necessary to keep the camera on at all meetings. If you’re not presenting something, what’s the point of filming? If you have to keep your camera on, Bailenson recommends adjusting your settings so that you only see the other person in the chat, instead of having both videos available to both parties. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to turn off your camera.
- For mobility: Bailenson recommends getting a different camera that you can link to your feed so that you can still move around and perhaps present from a standing position if you wish. Other the feature is for turn your camera off again and for use bluetooth headphones to be able to walk around the house or apartment.
- For anxiety over nonverbal cues: Turning off the camera also works well, but to reinforce it even more, the researcher recommends listening to the meeting while away from your computer. That way, if you’re just using audio and feel comfortable attending the meeting while, say, guarding the dishes, you won’t worry about analyzing all the micro-tips that appear routinely.