Have you ever heard of Zoom fatigue? If you’re still working from home, you might have experienced it yourself. Zoom fatigue occurs because of the increased amounts of video calls your employees are attending. And it can be a genuine physical ailment — on Zoom. We must constantly look at the person who’s talking to show that we’re paying attention. That can be quite tiring.
So, how can you help your employees combat Zoom fatigue? Here are five tips:
#1: Vary Zoom meeting length.
Don’t make every Zoom meeting an hour-long if you can help it. If a “check-in” can be completed in five or ten minutes, keep it that way. There’s no need to fill up time having a meeting when it’s not necessary. That wastes everyone’s time and burns out your employees faster. Switch up the length of your Zoom meetings for everyone’s benefit.
#2: Schedule video-free time.
Consider making the afternoons video-free time for all of your employees, unless it’s essential. It’s imperative to take a break from the screens, both for the sake of your eyes and your mental health. So if you can block off chunks of time to designate as video-free, you’re doing your employees a real favor.
#3: Use other forms of communication, too.
Just because Zoom is available doesn’t mean you have to use it every time. There are many other ways to communicate with your remote team members — email, messaging services like Slack, or even an old-fashioned phone call. If something can be communicated effectively without a video call, consider whether it really needs to be done face-to-face or not.
#4: Make virtual social events optional.
The Harvard Business Review recommends making all or some of your virtual social sessions opt-in. This might apply to team happy hours, team lunches, etc. That way, employees who feel drained from all the video calls don’t have to go if they don’t want to. There’s simply no use exhausting or burning out your employees over a happy hour.
#5: Pay attention to your employees.
If you’re noticing that one or more of your employees seems extra burnt-out recently, it’s time to make a change. Switching up Zoom calls might be a big part of that. Pay close attention to the health and wellness of your employees, so you know when to act.
Want help staffing your organization with the very best? That’s where we come in. Contact High Profile today by visiting us online or calling 972-991-7900.
