Let’s take a trip back to March of 2020.
The realities of the Covid-19 pandemic were just beginning to set in. Across the world, companies were closing down their offices and sending employees home to transition to remote working positions for an uncertain amount of time.
Although unnerving, the health crisis accelerated the world several years into the future by forcing the global workforce to adopt what many were already predicting: distributed workforces operated by advanced technology.
However, as professionals became settled into this new way of working, a new stressor began to emerge from the shadows: Zoom fatigue.
Initially, new remote workers were enticed and even excited about their new arrangements. No longer would they have to spend hours of their morning getting dressed in office clothes and making their long commutes through traffic.
But all good things must come to an end.
Companies who were unprepared for the sudden transition to remote working soon turned to back-to-back virtual meetings to keep a sharp eye on employees.
That’s where Zoom fatigue began to take hold of the new population of remote workers.
Experts will look back on the past year as one of the most unprecedented, challenging, and opportunistic eras in worldwide history.
While there was an obvious health crisis that devastated the globe at a staggering pace, the mental health impact also transformed society and the landscape of the workplace.
Data has already solidified that reports of depressive disorders grew nearly four times during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019.
Although there is no turning back the clock to prevent this historical era for the human psyche, there is a chance to alter the rate in which mental health issues burden the workforce.
This starts with identifying the root of why so many remote workers are expressing feelings of loneliness, stress, and anxiety.
In reality, this shouldn’t take much sleuthing.
Research has consistently shown that Zoom fatigue is taking over the newly distributed workforce. Spending hours attending virtual meetings, along with the constant pressure to always “be on” has worn down once productive workers.
However, it’s important to note that Zoom is a great tool when used properly and has done wonders to help society transition into this uncertain point in time.
But overuse is hurting workers’ ability to achieve the work-life balance that remote working once promised due to working longer hours.
If business leaders effectively balance virtual meetings, policies that nurture workers’ mental health, employee feedback, as well as flex space and virtual offices, companies are guaranteed to mitigate any risk of Zoom fatigue and build a workplace culture that is unmatched.
