Why are video calls so mentally draining?
Zoom fatigue is a real phenomenon that achieved its rise to fame during the global pandemic.
Though the return to work at the office will happen, workplace surveys and research tout that hybrid work is here to stay - along with those pesky video conferencing meetings.
Video conferencing allows employees to join a meeting from anywhere - a perk that is helpful to saving valuable time and resources for organizations across all industries.
But - how do our brains react to video conferencing?
T1V explores how the combination of audio latency issues, the lack of nonverbal cognitive cues, and multifaceted view exhaustion creates a perfect storm of video conferencing fatigue in our latest White Paper.
For example, when there are audio delays on a video call, research shows it can be extremely distracting. Stanford University’s peer-reviewed study references research compared video conferencing to audio-only interaction. Study participants performed a guessing game as well as a secondary recognition task to measure cognitive load. The respondents in the video conferencing section made far more mistakes on the secondary tasks - as a result of mismatched image and audio latency.
At the other end of this spectrum is view exhaustion. One ingredient is what experts have deemed the mirror effect - or staring at yourself constantly during a video conference. People are more likely to evaluate themselves when seeing themselves, often leading to stressful self-evaluation that takes away focus from a presenter. Experts recommend staying on ‘Speaker View’ or selecting ‘Hide Self View,’ which hides your video to save from the mirror effect distraction.
Luckily, there is a tool to combat Zoom Fatigue.
Visual collaboration platforms, like T1V ThinkHub - have an interactive workspace that integrates video conferencing into a virtual Canvas. Tools like ThinkHub are vital to hybrid teams - so you can speak with colleagues while actually collaborating together.
Learn how visual collaboration software relaxes the brain and increases retention and team productivity - so you can participate effectively in a meeting - no matter where you are.
Download the White Paper: How Zoom Fatigue Affects the Brain and Why Visual Collaboration Can Help.
Additional Reading:
ICYMI: Takeaways From COVID-19 Impact on UCC Webinar with Dr. David B. Agus and Industry Expert Panel
Collaboration Is More Than Video Conferencing
What Is Visual Collaboration?
Visual Collaboration vs. Video Conferencing: What To Use And When
What Role Does Video Conferencing Play in Hybrid Meetings?