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The curious case of virtual meetings and Zoom fatigue

Sonia Diab
7 min readApr 22, 2023

A few years ago, the shift towards online professional communication was accelerated by a pandemic. It was a time that prompted us to ask:

‘Do we really… need… to be here? You know, physically?’

As it turns out, the answer is usually ‘no’.

Now, virtual meetings are the norm. But despite its obvious benefits, this swing to virtuality hasn’t been entirely smooth. When I was conducting a training session recently, some feedback from a sales team was that virtual meetings can still feel a bit… awkward.

And this doesn’t seem to be a unique experience. So, at a deeper level, why do virtual meetings tend to be more awkward and draining? And how can we make them better?

Zoom fatigue or something like it

Zoom fatigue and similar constructs generally describe the experience of exhaustion caused by sitting in many virtual meetings for long stretches of time; a process that seems disproportionately more draining than in-person work.

Research shows that this phenomenon tends to increase alongside app usage frequency, though notably, the quality of your internet connection also plays a role. And, as we might expect, ongoing exhaustion from poorly managed video calls could be a cause for concern. For example, some research has found a…

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Sonia Diab

Sessional lecturer, corporate trainer, coke zero fiend. Writing on human behaviour, psychology, productivity, philosophy & other stuff. subscribe soniadiab.com