Remember March 2020? What felt like an overnight transition to working from home quickly turned into months of staring at our laptops on Zoom calls throughout every hour of the day. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing describes this phenomenon as Zoom fatigue, or the unique tiredness, worry, or burnout associated with video calls.
Zoom fatigue is the real deal. We’ve all been there. So in this post, I’ll answer some common questions about the phenomenon:
Let’s start with the basics. Zoom fatigue is a state of exhaustion from over-reliance on video call technology. The term describes the feelings of fatigue, anxiety, and burnout that are associated with overuse of virtual meeting platforms. While the name refers to the video call platform Zoom, the fatigue can result from any video call platform.
The COVID-19 pandemic made many of our jobs permanently remote, forcing workers to shift the majority of their interpersonal interactions to video calls. When many people were unable to leave their homes, video calls became the primary way to stay connected to coworkers, friends, and family.
The convenience of video calls meant more calls, more time on camera, and more energy spent looking at a screen. The result was Zoom fatigue. Research from Stanford University linked this new phenomenon to four primary causes: excessive close-up eye contact, cognitive load, limited mobility, and the distraction of seeing yourself in the mirror.
Now that you know what Zoom fatigue is, let’s dig a bit deeper into why it happens. According to the Stanford research, Zoom fatigue results from four unique characteristics of video calls:
In a video call, eye contact is dramatically different than in person. You’re hyper-aware of everyone else’s attention and face, and they are of yours. The sizes of faces take up more of our visual field than in normal social situations. This intense eye contact has been described as activating our threat-response mechanisms, since we naturally only look this closely at someone when we’re in a conflict or an intimate situation.
When working in person or communicating via phone call, we naturally multitask without thinking. For example, on a phone call you can walk around your office to help you think or listen without needing to maintain eye contact with a visual. On a video call, however, we’re expected to look at the screen and remain engaged throughout.
This means that in non-verbal communication, we have to work much harder to send and receive signals on video calls than in person. According to Stanford, “[V]ia Zoom, social cues are not just delayed but can also be ambiguous… even brief delays in online communication change how people perceive each other.”
The research shows that reduced movement is correlated with lower arousal and negative emotions, while movement tends to increase cognitive performance. On a video call, we’re generally stuck in front of our screens, limiting our mobility. This limits our ability to process information and contributes to Zoom fatigue.
If you’ve found yourself distracted by your own appearance on video calls, you’re not alone. The typical video call features your own image on the screen, which constantly puts your appearance in your field of vision. According to the Stanford research, seeing yourself in a mirror consistently “can lead to negative emotional consequences and can be particularly stressful for people who are experiencing anxiety around their appearance.”
In short: all of us. The pandemic has forced virtually all knowledge workers to shift to remote work, and nonprofits are no exception. The Stanford research found that women specifically experience Zoom fatigue at a higher rate than men (13.8%) despite no significant difference in the number of hours spent on Zoom calls. This disparity is thought to be linked to higher levels of self-focused attention and social anxiety. The research also found that people who were introverted tended to experience higher levels of Zoom fatigue than extroverts.
The Stanford research provided recommendations for fighting Zoom fatigue within the four primary causes. In addition to the Stanford recommendations, I’ve added some practical tips that have worked for me personally.
Stanford recommends taking Zoom calls in a smaller window. This takes advantage of the natural human tendency to gauge the distance of another person from the size of their image. In a bigger window, a person’s face looks very close, triggering the stress response. In a smaller window, the image size is more similar to natural, in-person interactions.
The Stanford research recommends using your video camera judiciously to avoid Zoom fatigue. You can enable your camera at the beginning of a call to set the tone and create connection, then minimize the video once the meeting is underway.
In my experience, cameras off is a great way to give your brain a break, especially on longer calls. It also gives you more freedom to change positions and move around without disrupting the flow of the call, which I find helpful for processing information.
Stanford recommends turning off the self-view in your video to reduce the distraction of looking at your own face. In Zoom, you can right-click on your own image and select “Hide Self View” to minimize the distraction. In my experience, this is one of the most helpful ways to feel more present on a video call.
Whether it’s a standing weekly meeting, a quick 1:1 check-in, or a brainstorming session, turning your video calls into phone calls is a great way to combat Zoom fatigue. Phone calls allow you to get up and move around during the call, which can help you think more clearly and also contribute to your physical wellbeing. It’s often my preferred format for getting to know someone I’ve just connected with, since the conversation tends to flow more naturally.
Many calendar scheduling tools allow you to schedule shorter meetings by default (e.g., 25-minute meetings instead of 30-minute meetings, or 50-minute meetings instead of 60-minute meetings). By building in natural breaks before your next call, you give yourself the opportunity to reset before jumping into the next conversation.
Block off focused work time on your calendar to give yourself a rest from video calls. This not only prevents the Zoom fatigue that results from back-to-back meetings, but it also gives you the focused time you need to actually complete your work. As a nonprofit professional, it can sometimes feel like you need to be available all day, every day. Give yourself permission to say “no” to video calls and build in boundaries around your time.
Zoom fatigue is more than just being tired of staring at a screen. It’s a real phenomenon with real effects on your mental health and productivity. By taking active steps to reduce your Zoom fatigue, you can improve your quality of life and be a more effective nonprofit professional.
