Are you ready to end the zoom fatigue?
Has the pandemic increased the number of meetings at work? Why do our meetings feel so unproductive now? Why do we feel so frazzled by the end of our workday? Maybe it’s something in the air called Zoom fatigue!
Well, I am sure by now all of you must have seen images going around about how one year ago it was our last week outside pre covid and so on.
I, too, got the very viral circulating image depicting how quickly and at the same time painfully the year 2020 passed. The past Social distancing year taught me a lot about myself, which I didn’t know these years.
It took some profound self-discovery and relationships with both myself and others to get past the year, teaching me gratitude and living in the moment.
As much as I was grateful for having a fantastic job during these difficult times, I dreaded opening my work calendar only to see the number of meetings.
Like googling is coined as a Searching term, the term ‘Zooming’ has replaced the videoconferencing apps.
At first, I felt elated meeting team members virtually, working sessions, and having those virtual happy hours too. But I knew I didn’t want them anymore. Not to forget- ‘You’re on mute’; probably the latest and recently most frequently heard statement in the past remote work year.
Zooming has skyrocketed, and zoom fatigue has kicked in, adding additional stress to our already stressful worldwide scenario.
The biggest reason I hate zooming is how mentally draining it became to the point that it flattened out all my interactions lowering productivity. Experts say these virtual meetings are likely putting a mental and physical toll on us.
Studies show more than 95% of people multi-task in a virtual meeting.
The number of zoom meetings is directly proportional to mental disengagement and radically hurts our productivity.
Working longer hours and poor back posture has affected many during the pandemic. Virtual meetings not only reduce our normal mobility but also lowers down our cognitive strength. There is a growing study that a decrease in mobility lowers our cognitive abilities.
Cognitive factors kicking into an increase in multi-tasking while virtually present in meetings negatively impact our focus and attentional capacity. Studies confirm that zooming saps our mental health and energy gradually.
Discussions surrounding tiredness, burnout, mental health in the zoom fatigue era increased, worrying companies and businesses to identify solutions to beat it.
Many companies have been trying out new strategies to beat stress by either providing wellness hours on Fridays, adding Mental health days, etc.
They are reaching out to the best researchers in getting tips on how to implement best practices at this unique time.
Exploring this multifactorial analysis helps us delve deeper into understanding the fragile intricacies that make in-person interaction so precious and significant to us humans.
With back-to-work discussions taking the rounds, it seems like the draining technology that is zooming is not gonna be around for long. It will most likely be a mixed approach with virtual calls only when face-to-face isn’t possible or absolutely required.
However, Zoom and its competitors have taken note of these and introduced features such as Blur background- which helps reduce the emphasis on an individual’s home/remote work setting and focusing on the task at hand.
It reduces the stress of your colleagues judging how messy your work area looks like and bringing ease into work. More and more audio-only meetings are set up to reduce the pressure of showing up a certain way for work.
As time passes and the world heals, we will not only be able to go back into the office but also travel, meet friends, family, and our loved ones face-to-face and use Videoconferencing only when needed instead of it being the default.
Now, in what we earnestly hope is the last few months of the pandemic, it is high time we realize that just because we can communicate through the virtual setting doesn’t mean we constantly should.
This pandemic showed businesses that flexible work schedule if not permanent and complete remote is the future. Whatever the work situation be- full remote, flexible or in-office, businesses should include Combatting zoom fatigue.
Businesses can take note and seize the opportunity to disrupt the traditional way of working by implementing streamlined communication and trusting coworkers more by relying less on meetings and more on data.
While companies figure out their best balancing act, the real question is, are people ready to go back in the office. With covid-19 killing the corporate culture, many people have adapted the new normal remotely and, dare I say, willingly.
But do we honestly want to get out of the comfort of our apartment/homes where we have the opportunity of spending quality time with our family and eliminate the commute time. What’s there not to like?
I am sure, deep down, we all, at some levels, crave human interaction with people closer to them than the six feet distance. But this doesn’t imply that we want to go back into the office and kill ourselves with the commute, look presentable and follow a schedule, at least not the way it was pre-pandemic.
The past irritants will arrive again- mad rush hours traffic, multiple meetings, working on the company’s schedule, and the rush to get out the door in the evening to reach home at a reasonable hour for dinner. The question arises again- do we want to go through it all, or can we learn something from what the pandemic taught us?
With the majority of companies still searching for the best strategies for office- complete remote or flexibility options, both will have a recipe for disaster.
There will be people who would be willing to come to work daily, thereby increasing employee competitiveness over who is the better; more productive employee? Whereas the ones opting for flexibility can also be the majority, who aids to household chores and juggle between the two.
Not to forget the performance issues and concerns.
Only if businesses identify remote work as equally significant as in-person work; will we have learned something from the pandemic. Businesses need to start putting structures in place for when we treat flexible work as our priority as the year 2020 has clearly taught us one thing-
Everything that can happen in the office can effectively happen remote (except the frontline workers, amongst other exceptions)
This definitely requires a major culture and understanding shift for companies who have long been working traditionally. Flexible work was forever looked down on as either entitlement or for less important jobs. It’s time we change the definition and look beyond the fallacy.
While there are so many pluses for going back to work like ergonomic furniture, the separation between the work and personal life, much needed human interaction, are we really ready to lose the zoom fatigue?
Of course, much is in the air depending on the vaccine dosage coming in and the companies’ decisions. In the meantime- we can all adapt as we have. And by adapt- I don’t mean more zoom. I mean, there are a few steps we can take if we do; in fact plan on returning to the office at least a few days a week.
- Discuss the back-to-work schedule with your Manager
Identify any questions or concerns you may have regarding safety and work priorities. It is the best possible way to get your thoughts across to them - Prepare yourself
You need to feel comfortable with whatever you and your manager decide for work. Prepare yourself physically and mentally to create a safe back to the work environment for your productive self - Fewer expectations, more perspective
Don’t expect your first day to look like pre-pandemic as it won’t. It’s all about changing the perspective and looking at this as an opportunity one day at a time - Regular check-in with self
Don’t forget to check in with yourself on how you feel back at work. Evaluate if anything needs to change and voice it out
Finally, pat yourself in the back as you made it through the year and are still making sound decisions. You are a human doing your best to find your own path. Let us hope we efficiently utilize the brilliant technology that is video conferencing to our advantage rather than the sluggishness it brings along.
In the end, if we really want to fight the zoom fatigue, what better than reducing the zoom calls to lesser but more engaging calls. Zoom fatigue is definitely a complicated relationship that will evolve over time.
