The rapid shift to online, remote-based work provided many benefits for employees and employers alike. These flexible working arrangements are here to stay, even once COVID-19 is no longer a concern.
There is an unintended side effect of this new way of work, though, and it stems from ineffective, badly designed tools and misguided approaches to handling meetings with a remote team: “Zoom fatigue.” But by understanding the cause of this fatigue, you can adjust your approach to online meetings in a way that better engages your team.
What Is Zoom Fatigue And Why Are Video Calls Tiring?
Despite being a convenient replacement for our in-person interactions, video calls require a more significant effort to truly process the conversation (the primary cause of Zoom fatigue).
That’s because a great deal of crucial content is communicated not in what we say, but instead in how we say it, with nonverbal cues like hand gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Intrinsically, video calls make it difficult to absorb these nonverbal cues. Only so much of any given speaker can be seen, spotty internet connections can distort speech, and grid-style views can easily send an attendee into sensory overload.
Proven Strategies To Combat Zoom Fatigue
As more companies explore solutions to battle video conferencing fatigue, we have learned new best practices for hosting online meetings. Try these approaches for decreasing the instances of Zoom fatigue caused by your video conference calls:
- Establish New Video Meeting Rules: To ease the potential stressors of video calls, set guidelines around the medium’s challenges. Detail everything from your team’s video call dress code, rules of turning video and audio on or off, and how to handle home workplace elements like kids and pets.
- Experiment With Gallery and Speaker View: Experts recommend trying a limited view of only the speaker to calm the anxiety you may feel from having too many boxes (and information to process) on your screen.
- Add Some Friendly Competition/Gamification: Increase engagement in video meetings by introducing competitions or games for attendees to play.
- Limit The Size, Length, and Frequency Of Meetings: To reduce the overload on your team, limit the number of your meetings that require the full team, and make meetings optional whenever possible.
- Ask Your Team For Feedback: One of the most straightforward solutions is to ask your team for their thoughts on how to improve their video conferencing experience.
Social hour Delivers Video Conferencing Built With Your Team In Mind
Once your team has adjusted its video conferencing culture, you may still find that even your best efforts fall short in providing a truly effective video meeting experience. That’s where we come in. Frameable Spaces was built with the modern era of video conferencing in mind, with unique features designed to make your meetings more collaborative, effective, and fun. Learn more about why we’re a fit for your team.