How to Combat Zoom Fatigue

It’s been a year or more, we are still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, and the number of cases doesn’t seem to be ending soon. With this crisis, we are obligated to stay at home and perform our office work at home. By means of the progressing technology and equipment, individuals can match up to their professional needs via the online medium like Zoom, Teams, Skype, and much more. By ending fulfilling the professional needs, more people are progressively familiar with the term “Zoom Fatigue”. As the tiredness and exhaustion caused by the overuse of videoconferencing tools like Zoom can lead to major effects of virtual meeting fatigue. So, if you start feeling drained right after Zoom meetings and video catch-ups, it’s time to focus on your health cycle.

If you’ve been relying on Zoom for work, school, or socializing lately, you may have noticed that you’re feeling more tired than usual. This is known as “Zoom fatigue,” and it’s a very real phenomenon. Zoom fatigue is caused by the constant need to be “on” during video calls. You not only have to worry about what you’re saying, but also how you’re coming across on camera. This can be mentally and emotionally draining.

Know More About Zoom Fatigue:

As per the new study conducted by Stanford that ‘Zoom fatigue’ is real, and causes major severe health-related conductions in the longer run. To support their study, the researchers have mentioned four major causes of the recent phenomenon, along with some handy fixes that help to combat it. In case, you are also dealing with the fatigue effect right after conducting hours of video calls, then my friend you are not alone.

After a year of dealing with the crisis, we all are used to sitting in front of our virtual screen and making Zoom calls than we had ever thought possible. Whether you had been filling your beautiful evenings by catching up virtually with close ones or working from home for months, it’s quite evident that our screen time increases day by day. Plus, if you have ever found yourself feeling extra drained, then this is truly linked to the absolute amount of video calls that you made in a day.

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However, conditions like this virtual meeting fatigue can hit individuals differently depending on their lifestyle and health conditions. Below you can find the complete listing of the reasons along with simple steps to combat it.

Causes of the Issues –

• Excessive amounts of virtual contact are highly intense, especially without having blue-ray protection glasses.

• Seeing yourself during the video calls constantly increases fatiguing.

• Video chats tend to reduce our usual mobility.

• The mental load is higher in video chats.

These are the major causes, now you need to know about the major signs that actually tell you are having the same Zoom Fatigue symptoms.

There are a few things you can do to combat Zoom fatigue:

  1. Take breaks during long calls. Get up and walk around, or just step away from the screen for a few minutes.
  2. Schedule calls for earlier in the day, when you’re more likely to have energy.
  3. Use the chat function to take some of the pressure off of yourself.
  4. Keep your calls short and to the point.
  5. Resist the urge to multitask. Focus on the conversation at hand.

If you’re finding yourself feeling Zoom fatigue, don’t despair. Just take some steps to combat it, and you’ll be feeling better in no time.

Why are online meetings so draining

It’s not only in your head. Virtual meetings can be physically exhausting for a number of reasons. To interpret people’s facial expressions and decode tone through a computer screen, your brain must work harder. It requires more work to hold conversations through Zoom than it does in person, even if you may not be aware of this.

In order to maintain the appearance of eye contact during such interactions, people must simultaneously digest their verbal communication in their minds. Even with the advancements in technology, there is still a small lag when verbal responses are given through virtual interactions. Your capacity to decipher the other person’s statements may be hampered as a result.

It’s required that you be “on”:

Despite the risks of pandemics, working from home comes with some rather peculiar expectations. Some businesses demand that employees arrive at work dressed appropriately. Others prohibit workers from answering phone calls in their bedrooms (not ideal if you live in a tiny studio or have roommates).

Then there are the sporadic, unexpected Slack calls that occasionally occur. It’s one thing to walk into a conference room while you’re already at work, but it’s quite another to suddenly prepare your house and yourself for an unforeseen team gathering.

Interference from personal lives: 

Due to some of these expectations, occasionally portions of your personal life pop up during meetings. It may seem awkward or overpowering at this point (even though your boss is likely dealing with the same things).

It can be difficult to manage your team during a budget meeting when your dog is barking, your kid is crying, and your adolescents are fighting about who is wearing the right headphones.

Working from home adds a new level of difficulty to the difficulty of juggling work and other responsibilities.

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Major Signs or Symptoms of Zoom Fatigue

Work-based stress is nothing new, as the working culture is becoming more hectic than its earlier days. The tell-tale signs of major work burnout include sore eyes, feeling apathetic, and exhausted. And these signs impact your overall performance and make you less productive.

Here are the symptoms:

• Lack of memory and difficulty in concentrating

• Having difficulty maintaining relationships with loved ones

• Headaches and migraines

• All-time frustration and irritability with co-workers

• Sometimes blurred vision and pain in the eyes lead you to a troublesome situation

• Physical symptoms like muscle tension, fatigue, pain, and insomnia

How to Overcome Zoom Fatigue

Video calls and working from home aren’t going anymore, for better or worse. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to regain some control and reduce the amount of exhaustion you experience after a Zoom conference. To follow the most helpful remedy Zoom fatigue, you will need to follow these steps, as guided below:

  • Feel free to leave a meeting early: There will always be some you can avoid going to, but there will also be some you should absolutely skip (or watch a recording of later). We recommend taking breaks when you can during video calls if you absolutely must be present. A simple “I’m going to turn off my video because it makes it easier for me to listen” can go a long way if you sense yourself becoming lost or tuning out.

Additionally, there is no shame in merely stating that you need to switch rooms and turn off your video. Due to the false similarity that being at home equates to “not working,” which we are all aware is not the case, there can be a significant amount of pressure to show up for every meeting and job.

  • Plan Zoom meetings for tasks that you genuinely want to complete:

The expectation of professionalism is one challenging aspect of Zoom meetings. Because you equate getting a Zoom notice with having to clear your backdrop, fake a grin, or strain to hear someone experiencing trouble with internet access, you can start to fear just seeing one.

  • Turn off your video if it’s not required: Every workplace is a little bit different, but if you have the option to occasionally turn off your camera, do it! Turning down your video can not only help you make the most of your time but also relieve some of the pressure to seem a certain way through the screen if you need to multitask while doing something else, such as folding laundry, breastfeeding, or making lunch.
  • Keep your video meetings short: Try scheduling your online meetings for a shorter period and make sure to take a 5-minute break after a long meeting.
  • Choose a format that suits you the best: Try to determine what works best for your schedule and for your mental health if you have any say in how you allocate your time. Perhaps it works best for you to schedule all of your required Zoom meetings at the start of the week. Or perhaps you’d want to stretch them out over the course of the week. In this manner, no day ever feels too busy.

You might set restrictions so that meetings on your work calendar are only allowed after 12 o’clock. Profit from the tiny things that, thanks to working from home, you actually have greater influence over.

  • Switch to Audio Only: Consider asking your meeting groups to change their video layout and switch to audio calls. This will reduce your on-time screen appearance and allows your brain to grasp the information well.
  • Use virtual meeting software carefully – You can also consider the option of chatting, phone calls, and emailing for less tiring behavior.

So, next time when you feel tired and exhausted, use these above-guided methods to save your health and well-being.

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FAQs:-

How do you avoid getting tired with Zoom?

To ease the strain on Zoom:
Even while it could be tempting to multitask during Zoom meetings, it’s better to avoid the desire. Streamline the screen’s stimulus. Use the phone or email instead, take quick breaks, block your own perspective, and give yourself more room.

How can you prevent it?

Here are some suggestions for avoiding zoom fatigue.

– Implement an icebreaker.
– Keep participating in the polls.
– Make use of nonverbal cues.
– Hide from the camera’s vision.
– Put virtual backgrounds to use.
– Don’t stare at the screen nonstop.
– Create an agenda for every meeting.
– Don’t always use video conferencing as your default.

What steps are businesses taking to prevent Zoom Fatigue?

Similar business technologies like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex are available at Zoom. So-called “Zoom-free” days, which designate a day of the week when staff are not expected to be on video chats, have been implemented by HSBC and Citi.

What leads to Zoom exhaustion?

Zoom participants are also carrying a larger cognitive load, which together with the strain of maintaining extreme close-up eye contact, seeing yourself while speaking to your coworkers, and experiencing a lack of customary movement, all contribute to Zoom tiredness.

The frequency of zoom fatigue?

In fact, zoom fatigue is now so prevalent that Stanford University researchers and others are starting to examine the psychological consequences it has on people.

How can you prevent burnout from online meetings?

Avoid imposing video contact. As a leader, strive to set an example and appear on camera, but Robertson advised against punishing followers who choose not to follow you. Everyone participating in video once or twice a day is fantastic and should be encouraged, but it is not necessary.

How can weariness from online classes be overcome?

After every one or two hours of an online session, it’s imperative to stretch the body for a few minutes. Students are free to participate in any physical activity they choose to stay active. Frequently pause. Get out of your chair and take a stroll indoors or outside.

How much Zoom time is too much?

We advise spending no more than two to three hours a day in virtual (video) meetings, with at least a 15 minute break between each meeting, due to the necessity to leave enough time to focus and the realities of how much meaningful activities can actually be done in a day.

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