Zoom fatigue is a widespread phenomenon that became prevalent with more people around the world embraced video conferencing. Anyone spending more time in video conferences can experience a higher level of fatigue, strained eyesight, and social exhaustion.
Stanford University’s research into video conferencing reveals that zoom meetings are unnatural for our brains and social expectations.
For one, staring at our colleagues for long periods of time, and being stared at by them, induces the same emotions as public speaking. Our brain tells us we have to control facial reactions and emotions carefully.
For two, it’s difficult to read expressions through the screen, requiring more energy to translate what everyone might be feeling. Additionally, with the up-close perspective, it feels like people are inside our most intimate space.
The American Optometrist Association explains how long-term screen use strains the eyes and affects our vision. With the additional effects of zoom fatigue, these factors create a perfect storm for exhaustion.
So what can we do about it?
1. Schedule Time Away from Conferences
Reducing your video conferencing time will go a long way to reducing zoom fatigue. If possible, schedule your online meetings or other video conferences so you can relax your eyes and get up from your desk.
A good method for organizing your time and eliminating Zoom fatigue would be to avoid scheduling conferences one or two days out of the workweek. Scheduling this time away from video conferences helps you stay focused on one task at a time, which can be amazing for reducing the stress that comes from jumping from one task to another.
During days where you don’t video conference, try not to let colleagues from disrupting your workflow by making yourself unavailable or letting them know ahead of time that you’ll be working on your assignments during the expected timeframe.
2. Give Your Eyes a Break
While on a video conference, there might be an expectation that the video portion has to be on the whole time. If you suffer zoom fatigue, then it might be time to switch off your video. Audio-only conferencing gives your eyes and body the freedom it needs to relax.
During in-person conferences, we move quite a bit. We might adjust our seating position, look out the window, glance at a colleague, and more. Video chats don’t encourage this kind of movement. Seeing ourselves and others on the screen for hours at a time makes us feel like moving around will disturb others or give the impression that we’re not paying attention.
Switching to audio-only frees you to be part of the meeting in a natural way. In fact, it might be beneficial to switch to phone conferencing for entire meetings as long as a screen is not required for presentations.
Optometrists have studied how screen use affects eye strain. The proximity of screens during zoom meetings is a factor that contributes to fatigue. To offset this strain, set a timer to rest your eyes for 15 minutes every two hours of screen viewing. Also, “stretch” your eyes every 20 minutes by looking at objects far from you. This type of stretching resets your eyesight and can help with zoom fatigue too.
3. Reduce Screen Time After Work
Once your workday’s done, are you taking time away from other screens? Zoom fatigue builds on-screen strain, and so further use of phones, computers, or even TVs adds to your mental and eye exhaustion.
It’s well-proven that giving our eyes a break from screens an hour before bed improves sleeping conditions. Reducing screen time as much as possible post-work can yield further benefits. This time away from the screen reduces information overload that adds to your exhaustion.
All that time spent in close facial proximity, as mentioned above, taxes our ability to process emotions and reactions. Taking time to let the mind sort through this information can be essential to take on the next workday.
4. Try Virtual Phone Conferencing as a Zoom Alternative
Reducing your zoom fatigue might be as simple as turning all non-presentations into phone conferences. One alternative to Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts is virtual phone conferences with freeconferencecall.com.
This VoIP service offers beneficial features such as call forwarding, unlimited phone numbers for your workforce, zero long-distance fees, and no-hassle technology. Instead of clunky and expensive conference phone systems, you can turn any device into your phone conference tool.
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