Zoom fatigue: characteristics, symptoms, causes and what to do

Let's see what Zoom fatigue is and how it affects us, especially in video calls for work.

With the advent of the pandemic and work at home, some unexpected phenomena have begun to appear for mental health, such as Zoom fatigue.

Throughout this article we will see what it is and how it affects us in a context in which video calls are increasingly normalized.

What is Zoom fatigue?

Let's start by defining the term "Zoom fatigue". This refers to a psychological phenomenon characterized by the feeling of tiredness and lack of energy after having spent the whole day in the middle of videoconferencing or being observed through a camera.

This situation seems to be not only the result of the time spent in the midst of these activities, but other factors also play a role. Below, we explore some of them and some options to avoid it.

Causes

These are the main causes of Zoom fatigue.

1. Presence of the camera

According to a study whose results have been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology under the title "The fatiguing effects of camera use in virtual meetings: A within-person field experiment", having the camera turned on in virtual meetings may be a cause of Zoom fatigue.. This fact may be related to the need to show a professional image in front of co-workers and superiors, and to a feeling of constant observation that is not the same as in face-to-face work.

In real life, you can avoid the pressure of feeling observed by strangers or people you are not very close to by looking elsewhere or at the floor, as you would when you are in the elevator. In the work context, the space is distributed in such a way that people are not looking at each other's faces all the time and only a few interactions are generated between some subjects.

But in the middle of a virtual meeting, all the faces are projected on the screen, and there is an observation of all the participants with each other, creating a feeling comparable to being on a bus being observed by all the passengers, which contributes to the experience of being evaluated by others.

Having the camera on also generates heightened self-awareness, leading one to think about the image one is projecting to all the spectators at the meeting.. There may also be pressure to constantly observe the speaker or host of the meeting to avoid making a bad impression.

In addition, the nonverbal signals of the participants can be a source of confusion and anxiety for all the participants of the events, since the gestures and expressions become little understandable in the absence of a context to interpret them and of not knowing to whom they are directed or what situation generated them.

2. Watching a mirror all day long

A situation that occurs in Zoom sessions or in any other videoconferencing platform has to do with the fact of observing one's own image for most of the time that the interaction with the other person lasts (unless the option to hide this image, which is determined by the program, is chosen).

This increases the likelihood of judging oneself more frequently.This may be positive for some people to improve their appearance or behaviors, but in many other cases it can be a source of stress. This situation tends to affect women more strongly than men, who may direct negative attention to themselves. However, constant observation may also affect men.

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Stimulus overload 3.

Related to the previous factor, one can find the difference that exists between face-to-face nonverbal communication and nonverbal communication in the midst of virtuality. In face-to-face interactions, facial and body gestures flow more easily and rarely is thought about what is being communicated. However, through virtual encounters can generate an excessive awareness of what is being communicated through nonverbal language and there is a much higher demand on cognitive resources to compensate for these limitations of the virtual format of the interaction.

In online interactions, not only does one need to make an effort to be present and communicate a message in a natural way as one would in person, but one also needs to arrange the space in which the person will be located, set up the camera to record a certain space, think about the gestures to be made and whether they will be framed in the image that the interlocutor receives, and constantly look at the camera to give the notion that one is looking the interlocutor in the eyes, something that in the long run is unnatural and requires deliberate efforts. These actions also result in more errors that can occur in the midst of communication, and thus contribute to Zoom fatigue.

4. Bodily causes of fatigue

To keep one's own image in the field of vision of the people attending the conferences it is required to remain still in a chair for most of the day..

Most people tend to be near the screen and keyboard for many minutes at a time, which can be a contributing factor to fatigue. In the case of video calls, people may feel that, due to various cultural norms, they must position themselves so that they are visible to their co-workers, which adds to the discomfort generated by the psychological factors we have seen.

Consequences and psychological effects

An important consequence is that the fatigue generated by virtual meetings has an impact on the expression of the voice and the commitment of workers or students, which This is reflected in a lack of input, and a lack of desire to participate in the online meetings..

This occurs as a result of the fact that voice expression and engagement are some behaviors that can be evaluated and judged by co-workers, which can lead people to avoid speaking up or being "engaged" with the topics developed in the conferences so as not to be evaluated..

At the same time, fatigue demands cognitive resources, and that makes it difficult for people to focus on the expression of their voice or the engagement they show in virtual encounters in front of other people.

Discomfort is not directly related to the number of meetings attended per day.

One might think that the phenomenon is related to the number of meetings that people have to attend in a single day. However, some studies have indicated that even though the number of people attending virtual meetings has increased exponentially since the advent of the pandemic and working at home, the duration of meetings has decreased by 11.5 percent compared to face-to-face meetings..

Women and new hires are most affected

It has been observed that women are more affected by Zoom fatigue due to a higher sense of pressure from fatigue due to a sense of increased pressure to meet social standards of beauty and presentation and competence to perform.

New employees may feel pressured to present a better image in order to keep their jobs and to avoid giving a beginner's image.

What can be done to combat this phenomenon?

Sometimes it becomes impossible to turn off the camera as a result of the policies of the institutions in which we find ourselves; however, there are some practices that can help.

1. Take short breaks

Taking into account the consequences of looking at one's own and others' images all day long, an appropriate action to take is to minimize the window of the virtual meeting you are observing or move your gaze and change your position..

It is possible that all co-workers feel the same psychological and bodily effects in the midst of virtual meetings and will therefore understand the need to change position or move for a moment to avoid the effects of this phenomenon.

2. Reduce the stimuli present on the screen

According to the studies presented above, a major cause of Zoom fatigue lies in an elevated awareness of what others will think of us, heightened by the image of ourselves on the screen.

One tip for this situation may be to hide one's self-image on Zoom or any other video calling platform being used.

Another useful tip is to avoid looking at the stimuli presented in the videos of colleaguessuch as the environment they are in.

3. Make the use of the camera optional and plan an agenda.

If you are in an executive position, it may be appropriate to make the use of the camera in meetings optionalIf you are in an executive position, it may be appropriate to make camera use optional at meetings, because fatigue may be increased on occasions when you are sharing space with many people and some are strangers.

It may also be appropriate to have a facilitator to assist in the development of communication in the midst of large groups, facilitating the creation of points in the meetings and moments in which people should speak. This can avoid the negative consequences of constantly analyzing what others will think of the contributions made and thus reduce the negative consequences of Zoom fatigue.