“Zoom Fatigue” in Home Office: Why it Happens & What You Can Do about it.

“My brains is fried” a friend lamented one Friday evening. Her days consisted of video-conference calls, booked back-to-back. Working at home meant that she was also missing the office banter – the chit-chat  with colleagues that offered some light relief. Recent research by Stanford has suggested four reasons for what they describe as “Zoom fatigue.” While the research references Zoom, the principles apply to any video-conferencing tool. 

1. Prolonged, close-up eye-contact has become the norm, whereas this type of eye contact is typical normally only in close relationships. (Baileson, 2021). The research cites the example of an elevator, when we are up-close-and-personal with people we do not know. What do we do? We use eye contact sparingly, stare at our feet, the walls, the ceiling, all to create a vital sense of personal space. In video-conferencing, we end up staring at the other meeting attendees – constantly.

2. Restrictions on mobility. Working at home and consta-calling, can mean people move less. We no longer move from meeting room to meeting room, but stay sitting while sliding from one meeting to the next. 

 

3. Constantly staring at your own face.

Another friend told me that he didn’t realise how angry he looked most of the time.
He was quite perplexed. 

Looking at myself all day doesn’t bother me so much. I am not sure what that says at me. (Or whether I should admit it in public.) All of my life I have been told I have an “expressive face.” All of my life, I had assumed that this was a positive thing. Wrong. Very wrong. Since working digitally, I have realized that my face can contour into horror when someone says something I disapprove of. Now, I make a concerted effort at what I call – “facial self-regulation” A positive learning for me. 

4. Cognitive overload. More on this later. 

 

To create a healthy boundary in your digital meetings, the Stanford research suggests the following.
• Use an external webcam.
• Use an external keyboard
• Keep the screen at least 50cms away from you.
• Hide self-view (possible in Zoom)
• Alternate between video and audio-only meetings.

I have done all this (ordered the webcam) and have added some more feline touches. 

5. Create a multi-layered virtual boundary.
Use two screens. Similar to the elevator situation, in real-life meetings, we look around, tilt our head, read the notice on the wall. If someone goes off on a rant, talks too long, or simply bores us – we can doodle, look away, appear as though we are taking painstaking notes. These provide healthy boundaries that avoid cognitive overload and keep our minds healthy. But online, there is nowhere to hide. 

 

We are not just supposed to look at everyone – all the time, but there is an unstated expectation that we are supposed to look interested – all the time. An unnatural, sensory-overload situation. This is the cognitive load that Bailenson, of Stanford refers to. 

 

6. Put your device at eye level.
My laptop is on a stand at the very back of the desk (over 50cm away from the keyboard) placing the laptop camera at my eye level. The second, larger screen is closer to me, and I use this when I need to type something, allowing me some vital sense of personal space – even in between calls. Not only does this help reduce eye-strain (working only with my laptop, I was cultivating a very attractive rabbit-with-myxomatosis look – think “pink eye”) This second screen can also reduce the intensity of one-to-one meetings – as one can look away – a natural movement in real-life communication. 

Or ->If using only a laptop, use a stand to put it at eye-level and use an external keyboard. 

 

7. Sit pretty. Frame yourself professionally in the frame, i.e. ensure that your head and shoulder are captured and that your face doesn’t take up too much of the screen. If your face takes up too much space on another person’s screen, it can appear overly-dominant. 

8. Design your workspace for movement.
As humans we are designed to move. We need to move. You can design for it.
A standing desk. A game changer. Of all the bucks I have spent online in the last 24 months, (and there have been many) this 250 bucks on a standing desk has been the best investment. At night, I cover the large screen with a baby blanket to turn our place back into a home.  

I must say though, that it took me some time to get the hang of the standing-desk – initially finding it resulting in reduced productivity.

Gazing at my laptop on my desk sitting down – was also giving me neck strain. Since I have a standing desk, 2 screens and a keyboard, I can move my head. I can move my hands; I can create a healthy boundary. While I am grateful that the technology exists that allows me to continue to work in the current time. I had felt restricted. As a presenter, I am a natural pacer, but working digitally with a laptop forced me to be still, rigid and I was not loving it. The standing desk helps me feel energised. 

 

Strike a pose. I must admit to engaging in below-the-belt yoga moves.  My favourite pose is the tree pose (as in the picture), balancing on one leg, with the sole of the other foot flat against the knee.  This is perfect antidote to feeling irritated (In fact, I am doing it at home right now. Some little people I love – have robbed and eaten some sweeties – right before dinner)  

Why do I do this? In a real-life class, It was relatively easy to shift the conversation  subtly.  But online, how can you do this? The challenges of online facilitation are discussed in another article.

Thus when a discussion has gone off-track, I hop on one leg, silently recite my favourite mindful mantra: “oh, there is a feeling of irritation.” (a technique called affect-labelling , i.e, non-judgemental awareness – more on that another day). I let the person finish. When I am ready and centred again;  I put my foot down physically and verbally. I steer the class back on track. And it works, every time.

Now, that is something you cannot learn at Stanford.

Stanford Paper: Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab