Throughout the pandemic, many former offices workers are necessarily glued to their computer screens. As work migrated online, video tools such as Zoom and Google Hangouts have become the rare outlet for regular face-time with colleagues. But sof an alternative to see your colleagues without a screen in the wayall these video conferences have led to an epidemic of “zoom fatigue.”
According to a new study from Stanford researchers published in the magazine Technology, mind and behaviorZoom fatigue is basically what it sounds like – due to the increased burden of keeping connections at bay via video chat-and the leads to burnout, stress, and monotony at work. But there are ways you can reduce the stranglehold video conferencing can be on your mood.
What is hem fatigue?
It doesn’t specifically apply to Zoom, and the company’s executives would likely argue that the term is doing their marketing efforts a disservice. According to Jeremy Bailenson, founder and director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, this problem applies to everyone video conferencing servicesG.in general it describes the fatigue caused by need to feel constantly turned on as you jump between browser windows for different online meetingsIt also makes sense, considering that studies have shown that longer screen time – especially when combined with a sedentary lifestyle – increases you opportunities to develop moderate to severe depression.
G / O Media can receive a commission
If you suffer from this, you probably usually are drown in it a heavy schedule of virtual meetings, and feeling as you can hardly keep your head above water.
What causes it
Bailenson’s research points to four reasons why video conferencing can be so mentally stressful
- Intense eye contact is tiring. Closing eyes with your colleagues to show that you are paying attention can be demanding. Doing this several times a day can feel oppressive. Rather than making joint eye contact during much of the meeting, your colleagues may think your attention is diminishing.
- Watching yourself during video chats is exhausting. Looking at yourself in a meeting only increases performance anxiety. The psychological cost of living during the pandemic is already quite burdensome – why exacerbate this with concerns about how you view your colleagues?
- Video chats make us move less. If you’re constantly chained to a desk, you don’t move around as much as your body needs. In a traditional office environment, you may at least have to walk to a conference room on a different floor. By switching between different video meetings, we sit more and move less, at the expense of our mental well-being.
- Nonverbal cues are more difficult to interpret. The challenge of deciphering nonverbal cues only adds to the stress that is caused by video chats. This can lead to what Bailenson calls a “ cognitive overload, ” where your head may be swimming in the supposed subtext from the conversation.
Ways to Fight Zoom Fatigue
Fortunately, Bailenson did not discover the problems without offering solutions.
- For eye contact: The researcher recommends not using the full screen setting. This way, at least your co-workers will look a bit smaller, so you won’t be as pressured to keep your eyes on theirs.
- For self-awareness: It is not real needed to keep your camera on for every meeting. If you’re not presenting something, what’s the point of filming yourself? If you gotta keep your camera on Bailenson recommends adjusting your settings so that you only see the other person in the chat, instead of both videos being available to both parties. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to turn off your camera.
- For mobility: Bailenson recommends purchasing another camera that you can link to your feed so you can still move around and maybe present from a portrait position if you feel like it. Another resort to turn your camera off and to wear bluetooth headphones so you can walk around your house or apartment.
- For fear of non-verbal cues: Turning off your camera also works fine, but to give it extra power, the researcher recommends listening to the meeting in between away from your computer. In this way, if you are using audio only and feel comfortable attending the meeting, put the dishes away, you don’t have to worry about over-analyzing any micro-signals that crop up routinely.