24th August 2020
Not ANOTHER video call! Combatting video call fatigue
During Covid-19 we’ve all been relying on numerous video calls to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family. But several months into the pandemic the novelty is starting to wear off. Does seeing a block of back to back virtual meetings make you want to crawl back into bed? You’re not alone. There is a very good reason why video calls take it out of us more than in-person meetings would, but there are things we can do to combat it – hurrah!
Read Amy Blaschka’s article to find out why you’re experiencing video call fatigue and 8 tips to help.
From the Article:
We’ve all felt the fatigue of the litany of seemingly never-ending video calls, and it turns out that ‘Zoom Gloom’ is real—and it’s exhausting us.
“Many of the nonverbal cues that we typically rely upon during in-person conversations—eye contact, subtle shifts that indicate someone is about to speak—are out the window,” explained Laura Dudley, a behavior analyst at Northeastern University, in a recent article.
To communicate, humans rely on synchrony, the interaction of our words, movement, gestures, and timing between each other. With video calls, that interplay becomes tricky—our physical distance makes it tougher to pick up non-verbal cues. And limitations of the technology (inevitable glitches, audio delays, and an inability to process cross-talk) make real-time feedback difficult.
According to researchers, being on a video call requires more focus than in-person interactions. On video chats, our brains put in much more effort to process and make sense of facial expressions, body language, and vocal cues like pitch and tone. And this gets exponentially harder when a video call has more than two people; we attempt to communicate and connect the way we would in person, but become overwhelmed with asynchronous cues. This struggle to synchronize is what is so draining.
As much as possible, experts suggest taking measures to limit video calls to those that are necessary and only using the camera function sparingly. Even though you may not be able to control the number of video chats you’re on, you can take measures to counteract the dreaded “Zoom Gloom.”
Get the full article online: This Is How To Combat ‘Zoom Gloom’ In The Time Of COVID.
Make sure to explore Inspiring Workplace’s other content and insights about Experience and Engagement.