The widespread adoption of video-conferencing has not only transformed communication at scale, but also increased feelings of Zoom fatigue among workers around the world. Although Zoom fatigue is well-documented, it is still unclear what aspects of video-conferencing contribute to this sense of exhaustion. This paper leveraged theory on computer-mediated communication (CMC) to investigate the causes of Zoom fatigue in an online convenience sample of 9787 participants. We provide empirical evidence that Zoom fatigue is influenced by the dynamics of individuals’ video-conferencing usage and their psychological experience of the meeting. Specifically, our results support Bailenson’s theory of nonverbal overload (2021) that video-conferences are exhausting because maintaining the nonverbal communication cues required in video-based calls (e.g., making eye contact with many people at once) can be draining. We found that people who used video-conferencing more frequently, for longer and with fewer breaks reported more Zoom fatigue. However, people also experienced more Zoom fatigue when they experienced (1) mirror anxiety from seeing their self-image, (2) hyper-gaze from feeling watched by many faces, (3) feeling physically trapped, and challenges in (4) effort in producing nonverbal cues, and (5) effort in monitoring others’ nonverbal cues, even when controlling for differences in usage dynamics. Relative to men, women also reported greater Zoom fatigue after video-conferencing because they experienced the above nonverbal mechanisms to a greater extent.
Research on Zoom Fatigue
so what are some guidelines to combat this fatigue – more time between meetings? less online meetings?
Please search the word fatigue at: https://eapassist.com.au/news/
From the EAP Website 🙂
How to relieve the fatigue
Switching to phone calls or email where possible.
Making meetings short, less than 15 minutes if possible.
Have a co-worker’s dog or cat appear during a Zoom/virtual meeting. (Studies have long shown that dogs increase our levels of oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that calms our nervous system while reducing anxiety).
Work-related stress during Zoom meetings can also be lessened when someone tells a funny story or a joke, when someone’s child makes an appearance or when they can talk about non-work-related subjects.
Consider a walking zoom/virtual meeting using your smart phone.
Nice article. I think this problem is getting worse as more companies used online meetings for economic reasons. Also, I reckon that one strategy to avoid zoom fatigue is to not look the main screen all the time, I mean do some breaks and look to somewhere else. It worked for me.
Hi Mauricio, thank you for your feedback and suggestion.