This can feel a little embarrassing or overwhelming (even though your boss is likely dealing with the same things).
Home life interferenceĭue to some of these expectations, sometimes bits of your home life show up during meetings. It’s one thing to stroll into a conference room when you’re already in the office, but having to suddenly prime yourself and your home for an unexpected team meeting is completely different. Others forbid employees from taking calls in their bedroom (not ideal if you live in a tiny studio or have roommates).Īnd then there are the random Slack calls that sometimes pop up, unannounced. Some companies require their employees to dress as if they’re coming to work. There are some very weird expectations that come along with working from home, pandemic concerns aside. This can strain your ability to interpret the words of the person you’re talking with. “When engaging in such interaction, folx need to create the illusion of eye contact while also mentally processing their verbal communication,” Jagoo says.Īs far as technology has come, there’s also still a slight delay for verbal responses during virtual connections. You have to work harder to read people’s facial expressions and decode tone through a computer screen.Įven though it isn’t something you consciously realize, it takes more effort to have conversations through Zoom than it does in real life. Several factors make virtual meetings legitimately tiring. These are all potential signs that Zoom fatigue has set in. Has switching to Zoom meetings impaired your ability to multitask or handle your work responsibilities? Have you noticed that after a meeting, you’re incredibly tense or tired? It also tends to be linked to an overuse of virtual meetings.ĭo you find yourself avoiding, canceling, or rescheduling video conference calls? Zoom fatigue has very similar ways of showing up, with the primary difference being that it actually contributes to overall burnout.
difficulty maintaining relationships and being present with loved ones.forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating.The tell-tale signs of traditional exhaustion include feeling apathetic and generally exhausted, and having reduced work performance. It’s only natural that our work interactions are also affected. On top of the usual work-related stress, the pandemic has caused just about everyone’s mental health to take a dip.Īnd yet, most of us are expected to continue working as if nothing has happened. Work-based burnout is nothing new, especially for people working in service-based careers.
Here’s a closer look at how Zoom fatigue shows up and how to deal with it. There are definite benefits to things like Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime, from allowing people to safely connect face-to-face to making certain jobs more accessible for those with chronic health conditions.īut as with most good things, there’s a cost. Krystal Jagoo, MSW, RSW, notes that it feels “similar to what we tend to think of as exhaustion or burnout.”Ī lot of it comes down to the “increased cognitive demands of video conferencing communication,” Jagoo adds.Įven if you’re already plugged into modern technology, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an entirely new meaning to the phrase “digital world.” It’s not a formal diagnosis, but Zoom fatigue is very real. It refers to the exhaustion you feel after any kind of video call or conference. A lot of people are dealing with Zoom fatigue (sometimes called virtual fatigue).
Have you ever logged out of your last Zoom meeting for the day and found yourself completely drained?