3 Causes of “Zoom Fatigue” – And What You Can Do About It

Whether you call it “Zoom Fatigue” or something else, if you’re tired of virtual meetings, know that you’re not alone. A study by Virtira Consulting indicated that 49% of professionals working remotely reported that they were exhausted because of numerous video calls. The study also indicated that introverts were particularly likely to report the video meetings as fatiguing, and that a significant portion of participants felt pressure to keep their webcams on even if it wasn’t explicitly required. Are you tired of spending too much time on video calls? Read on to learn about 3 causes of Zoom fatigue, and what you can do about them.

1. Back-to-back meetings are stressful
2. Video conferencing encourages sedentary behavior
3. Staring at yourself can be awkward

1. Back-to-back meetings are stressful

One of the issues with video conferencing is that meetings are frequently set up one after the other, with a lack of rest between. According to Microsoft, research on brain activity shows that back-to-back meetings cause spikes in stress and decrease the ability to fully engage.

To help ease this problem, they suggest scheduling breaks between meetings, and keeping meetings short and intentional.

2. Video conferencing encourages sedentary behavior

Too much sitting down is already considered unhealthy by many. Some, like CBS News, go as far as to say that sitting at work for hours can be as unhealthy as smoking. Video conferencing might make the discomfort of sitting worse, as it encourages users to sit particularly still in order to be properly framed in front of a webcam and microphone.

To help combat this issue, you could try using a mobile device during meetings that allows you to get up and walk around.

3. Staring at yourself can be awkward

Constantly seeing one’s reflection on the screen is an awkward experience for many people. Women’s Health reported on a survey by Highfive which indicated that 35% of workers felt less attractive on video calls than they do in person, and 59% claimed to feel more self-conscious.

To lighten this effect of video conferencing, it may help to turn off your webcam completely for all or part of meetings. Alternatively, options that hide your view of your own webcam, or switch to a view of the current speaker may help. Keeping your webcam at an angle instead of facing straight at you is another approach that may make things less uncomfortable.

Talking to your manager

If you or your team are experiencing the effects of video conferencing burnout, it might be a good idea to bring it up with your manager. Consider explaining your discomfort and suggesting ways to lessen the impact. Your manager may feel the same way, and could be in a position to help discourage pressure to keep webcams on at all times during meetings or make other changes. Emails, conference calls, messaging platforms, newsletters, or other means of communication might also serve as alternatives to some or all of the video meetings.

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