Flaws in the "Zoom Fatigue" Bandwagon

Granted, Zoom fatigue is an obvious fact. But, as we break free of pandemic shackles, let us not cite Zoom fatigue as our permanent excuse for hiding from our colleagues. 

Teaching communication skills has been a large part of my career, and after many conversations about this with colleagues, I have become concerned for people who subscribe to the thin bit of evidence that they will be more productive by shutting off their cameras in meetings.

Let's not cut ourselves off from each other. Let's instead manage our own weaknesses in a healthy way and find a balance in how we show ourselves online.

Weaknesses in the Zoom Fatigue Bandwagon

Articles seem to point to only one academic study: Allison Gabriel’s short-term (4-week) study with a small-ish sample size (103 people) from a single organization, during a time of transition. 

Is our society pivoting on a single survey that included only 103 people?

Sure, people are fatigued. But how much of this is due to Zoom? Let’s look at the facts.

They asked people to use their webcams for every meeting for two weeks straight, and not use them at all for two weeks. Using webcams may have been a new experience for the participants; a jarring research imposed schedule, right in the heat of the pandemic. Therefore, we have no idea if their fatigue was due to Zoom or just the change. Or maybe it was both. People tend to get used to things they do consistently over time. The term neuroscientists use for this is assimilation. If the study weren't so short, participants, might have become accustomed to both. We don’t know.

Gabriel says that women and new employees can be more affected than men, which I think we should be cautious about. However, if managers are too strict or too soft in their webcam policies, they can hurt these groups more than others. If women and new employees aggressively pull themselves out of webcam usage, they put themselves and others at an an enormous disadvantage: They lose the wealth of visual cues that a camera shows. It's like they say: Out of sight, out of mind. Or worse, people can villainize you because they can't see you and your expressions. While hiding behind a visual wall is a risky move, showing up as a human, in real time can help us build trust.

People are talking about Zoom fatigue entirely as a bad thing. Gabriel is quoted as saying: “...they’re hyper-focused on their expressions and how other people might perceive them.” However, this is a valuable gift for people seeking to develop emotional intelligence - the most predictive indicator of work performance (also, on the average, people earn $1300 dollars for every percentage point increase). As I mentioned, like any neuro stimulus, this effect is likely to slump over time. But, for the short time it lasts, let’s take advantage!

Many propose the solution is to stop using webcams, when that is the opposite encouraged by other authors, such as Arthur Brooks, in the Atlantic. Brooks’ summary reads: “Videochatting may be convenient, but it will never make us as happy as real human interaction.” He’s not merely saying turn off the camera. He’s saying: Turn off the camera and go meet in person! The solution is not to merely turn off the camera.

Gabriel also asks: "How often do employees want to be on camera?" Being inquisitive and sensitive to people’s needs is crucial. However, I see people who prefer to be on camera very little (or never), and this can present a barrier for others who are new or less familiar with the team or the organization. For example, an acquaintance told me the following, after working for a company for three months and then being fired: “I never saw my boss. She never flew out and visited the office. She never showed her face on a call.” Perhaps my acquaintance deserved to be fired, but it seems unfair that he wasn’t allowed to see the abundance of context that comes through body language, facial expressions, and posture.

Solutions That Are Better Than Hiding Behind Patchy Research

Similar to how people take sick days, I have heard people confidently say: “I’m feeling the Zoom fatigue this afternoon, so I’m switching my camera off.” You don’t take permanent sick time, and you don’t have to switch the camera off for good. Here are a few solutions other than making excuses based on patchy research:

1. If the video feeds bother you, you can change your viewing settings to make the video feeds smaller and less obtrusive. I believe all mainstream video conferencing platforms have this feature.
2. You can put another window in front of your video conference app. Then you are on camera without being hyper-aware. Also, you don’t have to be stressed out by seeing other people’s faces. You don’t get the emotional intelligence feedback, but everyone needs a break, even if you are working on your emotional intelligence.
3. Some people say the background is distracting. To solve this you can use a fake background or blur your background, and encourage others to do the same. Every mainstream platform has these features within a few clicks.
4. Some Camera-Off Bandwagon articles start by talking about poorly planned and poorly executed meetings. Turning off your webcam and going for a walk with your phone logged in might be great when you don’t have to reference complex information, but that won’t fix a poorly planned meeting. Consider figuring out which meetings you don’t need to attend, and request a tighter agenda for meetings that have been run poorly in the past. 
5. Finally, if you’re meeting-ed out, ask if the meeting can be shorter, or if you can cover your part of the meeting in the first few minutes, then head out. 

Wisely, Gabriel’s HBR article states that this topic is “still up for debate.” I agree with that. Please share your own debate in the comments below.