During the pandemic, many former offices the workers were necessarily glued to the computer monitors. As work migrated online, video tools like Zoom and Google Hangouts have become a rare outlet for regular in real time with colleagues. ButAn alternative to seeing your colleagues without a screen in the way, all these video conferences have led to an epidemic of “zoom fatigue”.
According to a new study by Stanford researchers published in the journal Technology, mind and behavior, Zoom fatigue is basically what it sounds like – the result of increased effort to maintain long distance video chat connections-and he leads to exhaustion, stress, and monotony at work. But there are ways you can alleviate strangulation video conferencing could have on your spirits.
What is Zoom Fatigue?
It does not specifically apply to Zoom, and company executives would probably argue that the term makes marketing efforts. According to Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, the problem applies to everyone video conferencing services. GGenerally speaking, it describes the fatigue caused by need to feel permanently turned on when switching between browser windows for various online meetings. It also makes sense given that studies have shown Increased screen time – especially when associated with a sedentary lifestyle – increases you development chances moderate to severe depression.
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If you suffer from this, you probably are drowning a difficult virtual meeting schedule, and feeling as if you can barely keep it head above the water.
What the causes it
Bailenson’s research identifies four reasons why video conferencing can be so mentally imposing:
- Intense eye contact is tiring. Closing your eyes with colleagues to show that you are attentive can feel demanding. If you do this several times a day, you may feel overwhelmed. In addition to making concerted eye contact for much of the meeting, your co-workers may think your attention is focused.
- Watching yourself during video chats is tiring. Looking at yourself in a date only increases performance anxiety. The psychological cost of living throughout the pandemic is quite burdensome – why make it so worrying about how you look at your colleagues?
- Video chats mean we travel less. If you are constantly tied to a desk, do not move nearly as much as your body needs. At least in a traditional office environment you may need to go to a conference room on another floor. Switching between different video appointments means we stay longer and move less, to the detriment of our mental well-being.
- Nonverbal cues are harder to interpret. The challenge of deciphering nonverbal cues only adds to the stress caused through video chats. This can lead to what Bailenson calls a “cognitive overload,” in which your head could swim in the supposed subtext of the conversation.
Ways to combat fatigue with Zoom
Fortunately, Bailenson did not discover the problems without offering solutions.
- For eye contact: The researcher recommends that you do not use the full screen setting. This way, your colleagues will look at least a little smaller, so you won’t feel as pressured to keep your eyes fixed on theirs.
- For self-awareness: It’s not really necessary to keep the camera on for each meeting. If you don’t present something, what’s the point of filming? If you need to keep the camera turned on, Bailenson recommends that you adjust your settings so that you only see the other person in the chat, instead of having both videos available to both parties. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to turn off the camera.
- For mobility: Bailenson recommends that you get a different camera that you can connect to your feed so that you can move on and probably stand up if you feel so tilted. Another is resorted to turn off the camera again and to wear bluetooth headphones so you can walk around the house or apartment.
- For anxiety about nonverbal cues: Turning off the camera works well, but to further enhance it, the researcher recommends listening to the meeting while away from the computer. This way, if you only use sound and feel comfortable attending the meeting while, say, putting the vessels aside, you will not be worried about excessive analysis all micro-indices that commonly occur.