Zoom Fatigue: Fact or Fallacy?

Zoom Fatigue, is it real?

Zoom Fatigue, we are hearing it everywhere. It’s one of the many new phenomena birthed from quarantine. BBC says Zoom meetings are draining our energy1, National Geographic says it’s taxing our brain2, HBR says these types of meetings uncommonly require our constant gaze and focused attention3, and even TED has joined the fray and said it’s an unavoidable reality caused by an increase in cognitive load4. Is this new ailment real? Is it a façade? Zoom Fatigue is indeed real. There are a number of contributing factors. We have difficulty processing nonverbal cues through video chats, taxing our brains. We talk over each other. We have awkward moments of silence making us think people aren’t paying attention, because they probably aren’t. Our kids walk in right when we have to present. When we speak, our microexpressions are on full display conjuring up insecurities. We are stressed transitioning to this new normal, expending inordinate amounts of energy acclimating to this new meeting ritual. Unfortunately, remedying these proposed causes will only place a bandaid on the real issue. The true culprit for Zoom Fatigue is not Zoom or any other videotelephony platform -- rather it’s poor meeting hygiene.

Though attributing our new feelings of exhaustion to Zoom seems intuitive because it’s the new variable, the narrative is not that simple. We have a proclivity towards the binary. We like black and white; it makes life easier. Removing nuance helps us navigate the plethora of issues we experience daily. Zoom and other videotelephony platforms have become part of our new daily routines. Yet, blaming Zoom for our new feelings of burnout and fatigue are a convenient scapegoat rather than a proper diagnosis. Zoom Fatigue is symptomatic of a much larger issue, we suck at running meetings.

Why We Tend to Lead Poor Meetings

Meetings have a negative stigma. Prior to the pandemic, fifty-five million meetings were estimated to occur on a daily basis5. Ridiculous. What’s even more ridiculous is how many of us have never been trained to run effective meetings. As a matter of fact, you probably think you run great meetings. I used to think I ran great meetings. You believe you’re the exception to the norm. I believed I was the exception to the norm. Unfortunately, statistics show that the Lake Wobegon effect is strong at play, which corresponds to our tendency to overestimate our capabilities compared to others. Our meeting facilitation capabilities are not exempt from this bias. I’m afraid our subpar performance in leading meetings pre-pandemic didn’t magically translate to superb performance post-pandemic just because meetings became virtual. We simply transferred our mediocrity to a remote setting. So why don’t we know how to run better meetings?

Recently, Project ReWork, a Colorado-based initiative I am part of, interviewed Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg about meeting science. In his book, The Surprising Science of Meetings, he states, “I can say with confidence that there is no single investment of this magnitude that an organization makes that is treated in such a cavalier manner; where so few resources are allocated to assessing, evaluating, and working to improve meetings, both locally and enterprise-wide"5. He confirmed in his interview the countervailing opinion that Zoom Fatigue was exacerbated by meetings being too long versus short and effective. Though the side-effects attributed to Zoom Fatigue described by multiple media outlets have merit, they should not be conflated as the root cause. The root cause is facilitating ineffective meetings, particularly given our new environment. So, what do we do about it?

Eliminating Zoom Fatigue Through Meeting Stewardship

In order to run effective meetings, not just effective remote meetings, it’s important to think of yourself as being a good steward. We have done a poor job taking on this persona. Either for the sake of “efficiency” or because we are lazy, we tend to rush through the meeting prep phase because we don’t see the value. We think if we just get to the meeting it’ll work itself out. Yet, it doesn’t work out. We simply contribute to the culture of meeting suckiness. The perpetual meeting hangovers we experience are a testament to the lack of stewardship imbued by our meeting leaders.

Because people consider time their most precious commodity, stewarding it should be foremost on our mind. Most of our time should focus on meeting planning and preparation. This doesn’t start or stop with an agenda. Far from it. Research has shown that the inclusion of an agenda is a weak predictor of meeting success. Rather, we should ask these questions to ourselves as we prepare for our next meeting:

• Why is this meeting needed?
• What are the key goals, decisions, and outcomes for this meeting?
• Who needs to be in this meeting?
• What type of meeting should I call?
• How long should this meeting be planned for?

These questions are interdependent. If meeting leaders viewed themselves as stewards and consistently asked themselves these questions before calling a meeting, we’d be surprised by the decrease in fatigue. There is sound evidence that activating video for remote meetings increases engagement, hence why eliminating video may inadvertently cause other counterproductive behaviors.

Things to Consider

As we think about becoming better stewards in facilitating our meetings, we need to be mindful of Parkinson's Law, which illuminates our propensity to fill voids where we see them. Evidence shows this phenomenon is pervasive in relation to the length of meetings. If we schedule a meeting for 30 minutes, it tends to be 30 minutes. We pace our meetings in accordance to the time constraints we arbitrarily set. The good news is that Parkinson’s law can work towards our benefit by grasping this human behavior. We can schedule our remote meetings to be as short as reasonably possible. Short agendas will increase focus and engagement if facilitated effectively, keeping in mind that our virtual meeting attendees have limited cognitive resources stemming from their remote settings and their cognitively demanding jobs.

Facilitating effective virtual meetings is both an art and a science. Yet, we can stymie Zoom Fatigue by cultivating stewardship behaviors as we learn to lead remote meetings more effectively. Before scheduling your next virtual meeting, think through the questions above. Be mindful of your participants. Keep your meeting short and focused. Itemize your agenda topics as questions to increase participation. Encourage activating video to increase engagement. Don’t blame Zoom for enculturating a new malady. Rather be encouraged that Zoom Fatigue can be mitigated by being a good meeting steward, and the onus is on us for that.

1. Jiang, M. (2020, April 22). The reason Zoom calls drain your energy. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting
2. Sklar, J. (2020, April 24). ‘Zoom fatigue’ is taxing the brain. Here's why that happens. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-zoom-fatigue-is-taxing-the-brain-here-is-why-that-happens/
   
3. Fosslien, L., & Duffy, M. W. (2020, April 29). How to combat Zoom fatigue. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-to-combat-zoom-fatigue
   
4. Sander, L., & Bauman, O. (2020, May 19). Zoom fatigue is real — here’s why video calls are so draining. Retrieved from https://ideas.ted.com/zoom-fatigue-is-real-heres-why-video-calls-are-so-draining/
   
5. Rogelberg, S. G. (2018). The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA.