'Frustration and strain': study finds Zoom fatigue is real — and it's hurting employee performance

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and organizations worldwide shifted abruptly to video conferencing to replace in-person meetings, a new workplace complaint was created: virtual meeting fatigue, colloquially known as "Zoom fatigue".

To move beyond anecdotal complaints and self-report surveys, a team of researchers based in Ireland, Austria and Finland set out to determine whether the phenomenon was biologically measurable and not just perceived.

“Everyone switched very rapidly to using video conferencing platforms like Teams and Zoom and WebEx, and lots of people are reporting feeling fatigue as a result," explains co-author Eoin Whelan, professor of business analytics and society at the University of Galway. 

"So being academics, we're interested in finding out, well, is that real?” 

With the aim of discovering whether zoom fatigue is psychological or biologically-grounded, the study used EEG headsets to monitor employee brain activity, and heart rate monitors to track cardiovascular responses during video and in-person meetings.

“What hadn't been done was to gather more biological data to see, is this actually happening on a biological level, or maybe are people just feeling a perception that they're feeling fatigue, and is there a difference between the two?” Whelan adds.

Zoom fatigue made worse when seeing self on screen

The team’s findings confirmed a clear biological effect of Zoom fatigue: participants experienced significantly more fatigue during video meetings — especially when they could see their own image on the screen.

“We found that when people could see their own image on a video conferencing call, as opposed to having the same video conferencing call without seeing their own image, that they experience more fatigue as a result,” Whelan says. 

"What we think is happening is that people become more self-conscious. They get distracted by their own appearance."

This was measured through observable changes in brain wave patterns indicating mental exhaustion. 

“There's a certain pattern of brain waves where we can detect if fatigue is starting to set in,” Whelan says, adding that the mental effect of being on camera compared to not was "significant", even over a single 20-minute meeting.

The effects of Zoom fatigue aren't short term, either; the cumulative effect of daily meetings can lead to serious exhaustion. 

“If you're on five or six conference calls a day, which a lot of workers would be ... if that was to continue over days and weeks, it could lead to a fair amount of exhaustion for the worker," Whelan says.

Women and men equally self-conscious on camera

The study yielded some surprising results around gendered responses to video conferencing and risks of Zoom fatigue; as Whelan explains, the researchers initially suspected that women might be more prone to fatigue due to higher societal pressure to appear polished on camera. But the results showed otherwise.

“We found, actually, there was no difference between men and women in our study, that they were equally likely to feel fatigue when they could see their own image ... so it's not just gender specific,” Whelan says. 

“We assumed, because there were a lot of news stories during the pandemic about women struggling online or on conference calls more than men. We expected our study to replicate that, but it seems men are just as self-conscious and aware of their own appearance when they're on video calls."

This increased self-monitoring adds a layer of cognitive burden, he explains, diverting mental resources from the task at hand — which ultimately impacts performance.

Multitasking, tension from video calls

The research also revealed that virtual meetings encourage multitasking in ways that in-person meetings don’t — and this behaviour also has a measurable cognitive cost as this diluted attention leads to reduced focus, increased mental strain, and ultimately lower productivity.

“That was another thing that came quite clearly from our interviews, that people are more likely to multitask when they're in a video call,” he says.

“And you know, when you're multitasking, your attention is split four or five different ways, and that comes with a cognitive cost as well. So that's another reason why people experience more fatigue in conference calls.”

Informally, Whelan observes that another unmeasured but significant effect of video calls is it's potential to add to or even create workplace tension or conflict, as interactions limited to only colleagues' facial expressions can lead to negative assumptions. 

"We call this 'media richness'," he explains. "It's not as rich as interacting with somebody in a face-to-face setting. It can be more efficient, but one of the downsides is that you're losing a lot of the nuance."

Not all meetings need to be on video

The research offers a practical takeaway: give employees flexibility in how they attend virtual meetings. Whelan stresses that this is the main, and simplest, solution for HR to focus on: employees having the option to freely choose if they don't want to appear on camera.

“I think it's important to give employees the option of whether they want to have their mirror on and whether they want to be participating in an audio only meeting as well,” Whelan advises. 

While video may be appropriate in some contexts — such as client meetings — many internal communications do not require full visual interaction, he details.

“Some meetings have to be like that ... for other meetings, other conference calls, maybe it could be a training session or just updating employees on a new policy or something like that. [It's] not really necessary that employees have to be seated at their desk and everyone see them in a face-to-face setting,” Whelan says.

"They could take that one out for a walk on an audio-only call. So giving employees the option, depending on the type of meeting, to structure the setup of Zoom and Teams in a way that suits them best."

Encouraging experimentation and 'IT mindfulness'

However, across-the-board rules like enforcing audio-only meetings won't work either, as individual employees have different needs; for example, some people need visual cues and find audio-only meetings challenging.

Or, extroverts may be suffering the particular effect of missing out on social engagement they need to get motivated, Whelan notes: "For some people, it could be a lack of energy, rather than fatigue, is what they're experiencing." 

For this reason, he encourages organizations adopt what he calls “IT mindfulness” — the idea that employees should actively experiment with different setups.

“So people themselves have to reflect and see what works best for them,” he explains.

The study recommends allowing workers to adjust elements like audio versus video, lighting, backgrounds, and whether to use headphones or built-in microphones; "Other features like that can help people be more engaged in the meeting, less likely to multitask, and they might feel less fatigue as a result,” Whelan says.

Cognitive load from switching platforms can increase Zoom fatigue

Another overlooked source of strain is the number of different communication platforms employees must navigate throughout the day: "It's when they switch from one platform to another to another,” Whelan says, explaining that even though tools may offer similar features, layout and function differences are enough to cause cognitive strain. 

“It's the little changes between the different platforms which causes people frustration and strain and stress, and if that continues, that leads to fatigue over time,” he says.

“Even though these technologies are fairly straightforward to use, people reported a lot of stress when they had to switch from Zoom to Teams to WebEx.”

His advice for employers: simplify wherever possible. “One way to make that easy on workers [is] if a company just adopts one single video conferencing platform.”

Recommendations for HR and leadership

Based on the research findings, Whelan suggests a few clear recommendations for employers:

• Be flexible: Offer employees the choice between video and audio-only meetings where possible.

• Simplify internal communication: Standardize the use of one platform organization-wide to reduce cognitive switching.

• Promote 'IT mindfulness: Allow workers time to experiment with features and setups to find their best fit.

• Encourage focus: Promote awareness around multitasking and encourage focused engagement.