A recent study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz challenges the widely held belief in “Zoom fatigue” suggesting that online meetings may not be more draining than in-person gatherings. Published in the “Journal of Occupational Health Psychology”, the research indicates that the exhaustion often attributed to virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been a consequence of broader pandemic-related stressors rather than the meetings themselves.
The study, conducted with 125 participants and involving the documentation of 945 meetings over a ten-day period, found that shorter online meetings-specifically those lasting under 44 minutes-were perceived as less tiring than their in-person counterparts. Researchers posit that the perceived exhaustion observed during the pandemic period was likely influenced by factors such as increased screen time and heightened stress levels linked to the overall circumstances of the time.
Junior Professor Hadar Nesher Shoshan of the University Mainz emphasized that the study was performed under current conditions and its findings may not accurately reflect the unique experiences of the pandemic era. The results could have significant implications for the future of work, potentially dispelling the argument that online meetings contribute significantly to burnout among remote employees and influencing workplace policies moving forward.