by Nicolle Martin
Five Ways to Alleviate Zoom Fatigue for You and Your Team
We have all changed the way we communicate this last year. Pretty much all office workers moved to a remote work scenario and even family gatherings, friend get-togethers and happy hours turned to videoconferencing over a computer screen instead of meeting with people in person. This has been taxing on a lot of people and is now being referred to as “Zoom fatigue.”
While things seem to be slowly opening back up and a return to normal is in sight, it seems that communication over tools like Zoom, Teams and other videoconferencing methods is here to stay. While there are definitely benefits to this type of communication – no travel time, access to people in different locations, etc. – there are also downsides as well. Here are some tips to ensure Zoom fatigue doesn’t set in for you:
Schedule Breaks – Don’t do back-to-back video calls all day. While this may seem productive, it can be very tiring. In fact, in a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan actually admitted to having meeting fatigue after having 19 back-to-back video calls in one day. He said he now makes sure to put a break between any video meetings.
Have an Agenda – Make sure your meetings have an agenda, so you have a clear start and stop time for the call. That way, if people start going off topic, you can bring it back on target easily and make sure you stick to the scheduled time and subject.
Turn Off Self-View – When we are in meetings in person, we don’t have to sit and stare at our own faces and critique the way we look. Turning off your self-view will allow you to focus on others in the meeting and what is being discussed instead of thinking about scheduling that next haircut!
Avoid Multitasking – While it seems so simple – you are on your screen already, why not check your email and keep up with things that are coming in? – the truth is, you likely wouldn’t do two things at once if you were at an in-person meeting in a conference room, and you shouldn’t do it when you are on a video call. Not only does it distract you and take your focus away from the topic of the call, but it can also make you more exhausted at the end of the day.
Limit Online Social Events – If you are on videoconferencing all day for your work, scheduling social events in the off-hours can add to your fatigue. If you do plan virtual happy hours with friends or other virtual outings, try to change your physical location to give yourself a break from sitting in the same place all day – even if it’s as simple as moving from your office to your kitchen!
Videoconferencing for a large portion of meetings and events isn’t something that is going to go away anytime soon but, if we take the right steps now, we can alleviate some of the exhaustion and stress it can cause.
About the Author
Nicolle Martin is a senior account manager for Edge Marketing. She has more than 20 years of experience doing public relations and marketing in the legal and accounting industries.
Nicolle is looking forward to spending the summer weekends on the lake with her husband, two teenaged daughters, and dog (Jax) who is treated like a human member of the family.