Got Zoom fatigue? It might be because you’re sick of the way you look, says study

Are you suffering from “Zoom fatigue?” Exhausted from being on video calls multiple times a week, or even every day? Well, it may be because you’re sick of looking at your own face, according to a new study.

That study, from researchers at Michigan State University and published in the journal PLOS One, discovered that “facial appearance dissatisfaction” could explain the weariness people are experiencing when using videoconferencing technology.

Our increased reliance on virtual meetings in the workplace, especially with the rise of remote work, means we are spending a lot more time on camera, which has significant implications for workplace productivity and individual well-being, according to the researchers.

“Our study highlights that dissatisfaction with facial appearance contributes to Zoom fatigue, leading to reduced adoption of virtual meeting technologies,” said study author Chaeyun Lim of Michigan State University.

The study also looked at impression management features, which are tools that enable users to adjust their self-video to manage their appearance, and found that dissatisfaction with facial appearance “also drives the use of impression management features, emphasizing the need to address worker well-being in virtual communication environments.”

In other words, researchers found that individuals who didn’t like how they looked had more Zoom fatigue and saw virtual meetings as less useful, leading them to be less interested in adopting the technology. Taken together, the findings shed light on why some people are less likely to want to attend virtual meetings.

The study involved 2,448 U.S.-based workers answering a 15-minute survey. The group included professional, technical, and scientific workers who worked remotely at least part of the time and regularly attended virtual meetings for work.

It’s not the first study about negative feelings associated with virtual meetings. Another study from Austrian researchers in 2023 examined the effects of videoconferencing directly on the brain and heart. In that study, electrodes were stuck on the heads and chests of 35 students who took part in 50-minute lectures through videoconference and in person. According to the brain and heart readings, students had significantly greater levels of fatigue, drowsiness, negativity, and sadness, and less attention, after videoconferencing than after in-person lectures.

So, what’s the solution?

“Individuals and organizations can adopt practices such as scheduling regular breaks,” according to Graz University of Technology’s René Riedl, co-senior author of the Austrian study. “Based on our research results, we recommend a break after 30 minutes, because we found that after 50 minutes of videoconferencing, significant changes in physiological and subjective fatigue could be observed. Moreover, utilizing features like ‘speaker view’ to mitigate the intensity of perceived continuous eye contact could be helpful.”

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