An expert explains why you’re exhausted by video calls and gives 3 simple tips to combat Zoom fatigue

With more companies implementing long-term hybrid work plans video calls will remain a major part of our working lives. Here’s some tips on how to cope.

A man (working from home) using a laptop, in an online meeting with a woman, feeling mental burnout. Photo: Basak Gurbuz Derman/Getty Images

By Stephen Jones

With hybrid work looking like the norm for many office workers in 2021 and 2022, the issue of Zoom fatigue is unlikely to go away.

The reasons for Zoom burnout vary from being exhausted by looking at your own image on-screen to the unnatural, turn-based conversation video calls require. Some 38% of US workers polled in November 2020 had suffered some form of Zoom fatigue, according to the consultancy Robert Half.

And a Stanford study released in April 2021 suggests women experience higher levels of Zoom fatigue than men.

Karin Reed is a communications coach and co-author of “Suddenly Virtual”, which aims to help managers and employees cope with the sudden shift online.

Here are her tips for combating call fatigue:

1. Push back on video meetings

Having fewer meetings is the obvious starting point, said Reed. Before scheduling any, you should think about whether specific tasks require a meeting and whether you’re…