NARRATOR: Are you dreading another video work meeting?
Do you wish you could just call into a meeting
like the good old days?
Are you tired at the end of the day
from attending multiple video calls?
Well, you might be experiencing video conferencing fatigue.
Yes, it's a thing! A real thing. These days, we've not only
been video conferencing for work,
but also for maintaining connections
with family and friends. That's a lot of video chatting.
ANIMATED CHARACTER 1: I just got off my third video meeting today.
The thing that gets me about these video calls
is maintaining constant eye contact.
And you need to overly express ourself
so the person can see your reactions.
If you look away,
it looks like you aren't paying attention.
It's exhausting to pay close attention on video calls
multiple times a day. NARRATOR: meeting overload
was around even before the coronavirus pandemic.
Over one fourth of professionals think meetings are
unproductive or unnecessary.
With nearly half of managers saying
there are more meetings than required in a week.
So what can managers do to help their teams ease the pain
of video conferencing fatigue?
ANIMATED CHARACTER 2: I know most of you have been participating in many video
meetings this days.
I wanted to talk to you about some tips I have for managing
video conferencing fatigue. Avoid multitasking and stay present.
It's easy to get distracted by instant messaging or emails,
but staying present will limit the amount of energy used
during these calls.
Multitasking can cost you to as much as 40%
of your productive time.
Take breaks. On long calls while listening,
turn off your camera at times to give
your eyes a break from trying to read
everyone's facial expressions.
Take the meeting on a walk using your phone instead.
Walking meetings I've known to improve creativity
and eventually reduce stress.
NARRATOR: Do what you can to support video breaks to help reduce
video conferencing fatigue.
Encourage your employees to make the best decision
for their mental health.