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‘Lockdown Level 3 Day 26 – Feeling good, feeling positive’-Schalk Bezuidenhout

As some of us do not really share Schalk’s excitement about life during this period of lockdown, for others it is work as usual, but with a bit of a twist.  People around the world is faced with a ‘new normal’.  No more driving to work at 5am to miss morning traffic, no more work apparel, or office gossip or even Friday afterwork drinks……

‘New normal’ involve a Zoom videocall to your line manager in your t-shirt and pajama bottoms, checking in with co-workers on Microsoft Teams and having a get together with friends and family on Houseparty. Even though the use of video calling is on the increase to help people feel connected during Covid-19 pandemic, more-and-more people are starting to feel exhausted from the overabundance of video meetings. People are feeling zoomed-out because of overuse. Not only does video calling exterminate our energy, but also has an adverse effect on our bodies – from a numb butt to an aching back or a dull headache and eye strain.

According to Dr Linda Kaye, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Edge Hill University, with special interest in Cyberpsychology, the reason for the exhaustion might be:

 

  • The bandwidth in social cues of video calls is finer and the users must pay additional attention to others behavior to enable them to monitor social interactions effectively. These extra attentional efforts can become tiring over time. 
  • Video calling mostly include the user’s own camera view on the call screen. This result in people enhancing their own self-awareness to a greater level than usual.  Thus, resulting in making additional self-preservation efforts than would be the case in face-to-face interaction.
  • Quantity can also play a big role – since people has no need to travel it gives them greater opportunity to schedule more meeting and chats within their day.

Tips to overcome Zoom fatigue:

 

  • Schedule breaks between meetings.
  • Keep boundaries between taking work-related calls and social calls.
  • Use screen to view other’s rather than your own self-view.
  • Keep your group chats as small as possible – fewer people make the social negotiations easier and less demanding.

The world is truly shaping its new normal, and you need to do all that you can to make a personal commitment to embrace the behaviors that will keep you moving forward!

Stay strong and be safe!!