Zoom fatigue is a real thing. If you rely on video meetings to complete your job, you’ve probably felt these repercussions too frequently.
It makes it tough to focus, stay motivated, or even commit to an online gathering with family and friends.
As social limitations loosen and we emerge from the global pandemic, life returns to normalcy. On the other hand, Zoom meetings appear to be a thing of the past.
The bad news is that experts have discovered that frequent Zoom meetings might be extremely harmful to our mental and physical well being. The good news is that they have found efficient methods of dealing with them.
According to Microsoft research, back-to-back video sessions are extremely taxing for our brains. Jumping from one meeting to the next can result in stress surges. Going from one meeting to another may seem like the only option, yet crowding our schedules can be quite harmful in the long term.
According to the study, it is critical to take regular brief pauses between meetings to be less worried, weary, and more focused and engaged. You may encourage this by making video meetings shorter by default and leaving gaps between them.
Minor behavioral modifications like these can improve mental health. Allowing employees to participate in downtime activities can help their brains rest.
It was observed that during a short break and some meditation, participants were able to have higher average levels of beta waves when they resumed the next video meeting.
Reasons why you’ll need to limit Zoom usage
Affects work relationships
Lack of physical interaction and in-person contact can weaken work relationships, which research shows are detrimental to employee performance.
More than 70 percent of people said they spend too much time working—and over two-thirds cited stress as their biggest issue. According to a recent survey by The Creative Group, 36 percent don’t take all their vacation days.
When asked why, 75 percent said they couldn’t afford to take time off from work; 26 percent felt guilty about taking days off, and 19 percent said it would negatively impact their reputation at work if they were gone for an extended period.
In many cases, employees who avoid taking leave do so at great cost to their mental health.
Results in less movement
Zoom has made us less active. Getting your body moving again might help you manage your mental health. You can feel better by walking, riding, or even taking the tube. The doctor frequently prescribes a change of scenery to provide a respite from the screen.
Traveling can give you time to take your daily steps, contemplate, read, listen to music, or listen to a podcast. Alternatively, you may prepare for and reflect on a meeting.
Muscle stiffness and fatigue creep in
Zoom fatigue has stiffened muscles and made our eyes dry and tired from staring at our laptop, desktop, or phone screens during meetings. Continuous exposure to blue light is harmful to our health.
Many Zoom conversations might have had the same effect as phone calls, emails, or face-to-face meetings (when we are allowed). If possible, you should choose if a Zoom call is required to complete the task or whether you can get the same result through other methods.
We become overly critical and self-obsessed
We’ve become more self-conscious about how we appear and sound after watching ourselves speak during a Zoom conference. Unflattering lighting and depending on filtered or modified computer pictures have discouraged and made us overly critical of ourselves.
When you’re in a Zoom meeting, you may feel as if you’re on stage and must perform. It can make people uneasy, especially if they aren’t used to being on camera. People might experience a confidence crisis.
Frequent Zoom can lead to reduced productivity and mood
Back-to-back Zoom meetings reduce our productivity, attention, mood and vitality. Because we aren’t leaving our houses as often, it might make us feel claustrophobic. You may assist by only using Zoom when necessary or beneficial.
You can develop healthy routines such as going for a stroll during your lunch break or after work. It can also increase your degree of inventiveness. It is beneficial to your mental health to schedule cheerful activities and surround yourself with happy people.
Our brains have evolved to need social interaction. We also learn a lot through nonverbal clues. When we’re on a video conference, we often lose or work harder to recognize these signs.
Our heads are in sync, but our bodies are not; we are conversing with a screen while faking social interaction. This cognitive dissonance leads our brains to have contradictory sensations, sending out stress signals.
How to reduce negative mental health impact caused by Zoom?
- Reducing the number of Zoom calls is an excellent place to start.
- Try to provide gaps between calls so that they aren’t all back-to-back.
- Instead of looking straight ahead, position your screen to the side.
- Offer to make a phone call instead of a video call.
- Remove your tile so you may concentrate on the topic rather than yourself.
- Schedule activities that will take you away from the screen during the week.
Learning to manage stress from meetings
Therapists specializing in life-work balance can help you learn how to set healthy boundaries and keep perspective on what’s truly important.
Even when your schedule is overwhelming, you must carve out time for yourself—whether that means getting up a little earlier or going home a little later.
Try scheduling me-time into your calendar as non-negotiable; if people have to reschedule their appointments to accommodate yours, so be it.
Wrap up
Keeping in touch is beneficial to your mental health. Zoom is one way (but not the only option) to interact with your family, friends, and coworkers!
Working from home helps us do more and plan more meetings in less time, but our brains can get overburdened without frequent screen breaks.
We may assist our brains reset by taking 5 minutes or more between meetings. We should consider this as virtual meetings become more prevalent in our everyday lives.