Online meetings are still wearing us out. Neuroscience research shows that they are uniquely fatiguing, but there are ways to make them more manageable.
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images
“Virtual meeting fatigue” is no longer just a buzz phrase — it’s a measurable neurological phenomenon. Brain- and heart-monitoring experiments have shown that video calls drain us more than face-to-face meetings do, but a few practical fixes can boost meeting effectiveness and protect employee well-being.
Almost as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the widespread adoption of remote working practices, the term “Zoom fatigue” entered the business lexicon as a synonym of the tiredness, worry, or burnout associated with the use of meeting platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Webex. Workers reported feeling exhausted by the endless cycle of virtual meetings and attributed their low energy levels to factors such as the lack of natural interactions with colleagues or the increased self-consciousness from the perception of others staring at them.
Despite the current return-to-office trend, virtual meetings are here to stay. One recent study found that one-third of professionals still have up to four virtual meetings a day.1 It is also estimated that 98% of all organizational meetings will have at least one remote participant going forward.2 So virtual meeting fatigue is still an ongoing problem.
Science-based evidence of virtual meeting fatigue, however, has been harder to come by. Numerous research studies based on self-reported survey data have examined virtual meeting fatigue, as well as its links to undesired outcomes such as poor meeting engagement, physical strains, stress, and decreased productivity. Our recent research, however, now shows that there is a neurological basis to virtual meeting fatigue.3
In two separate experiments, we analyzed the effects of virtual meetings using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the activity of the central nervous system, and electrocardiography (ECG) to assess autonomic nervous system (ANS) activation. Electrodes were placed on the head and chest to noninvasively record the brain and heart activity of participants engaged in a virtual meeting.
In the first experiment, study participants took part in both a 50-minute videoconference and face-to-face meeting while wearing EEG and ECG devices.
References
1.“Virtual Burnout — 73% of U.K. Professionals Are Having Their Working Day Interrupted by Virtual Meetings,” Robert Walters (blog), Aug. 29, 2024, www.robertwalters.co.uk.
2.S. Kjesbu, “2024 Tech Predictions: Hybrid Collaboration Is Here to Stay,” Cisco Blogs, Jan. 17, 2024, https://blogs.cisco.com.
3.R. Riedl, K. Kostoglou, S.C. Wriessnegger, et al., “Videoconference Fatigue From a Neurophysiological Perspective: Experimental Evidence Based on Electroencephalography (EEG) and Electrocardiography (ECG),” Scientific Reports 13 (2023): 1-19; and
J. Xu, E. Whelan, A. O’Brien, et al., “Does Self-View Mode Generate More Videoconferencing Fatigue in Women Than Men? An Experiment Using EEG Signals,” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 27, no. 6 (June 2024): 426-430.
4.Riedl et al., “Videoconference Fatigue,” 1-19.
5.Xu et al., “Does Self-View Mode Generate More Videoconferencing Fatigue in Women Than Men,” 426-430.
6.T. Jacquet, B. Poulin-Charronnat, P. Bard, et al., “Physical Activity and Music to Counteract Mental Fatigue,” Neuroscience 478 (Dec. 1, 2021): 75-88.
7.M.M. Lorist, E. Bezdan, M. ten Caat, et al., “The Influence of Mental Fatigue and Motivation on Neural Network Dynamics; an EEG Coherence Study,” Brain Research 1270 (May 13, 2009): 95-106.
8.B.J. Thatcher, R.T. Wright, H. Sun, et al., “Mindfulness in Information Technology Use: Definitions, Distinctions, and a New Measure,” MIS Quarterly 42, no. 3 (September 2018): 831-847.
9.M.R. Lee, K. Cacic, C.H. Demers, et al., “Gender Differences in Neural-Behavioral Response to Self-Observation During a Novel fMRI Social Stress Task,” Neuropsychologia 53 (January 2014): 257-263.
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