Zoom Gloom? aka Zoom Fatigue...

WHAT'S ZOOM FATIGUE?

Have you heard of it? If not, I’m sure you’ve been feeling it as of late – especially if you’ve been working from home. Zoom Fatigue is a new form of exhaustion that is defined as "the feeling of tiredness, anxiousness or worry with yet another video call.” As millions of people are staying indoors, almost everything has moved to the virtual realm. For many – whether corporate meetings, fitness classes, and even family gatherings, it's mostly happening on Zoom and other video chat applications.

WHY DOES IT AFFECT US?

Communication Disconnect
We are already exhausted from the stress in our lives. Although, some may think connecting over video chat seems like a way to relieve the isolating aspect of working/living at home, there’s actually a disconnect happening. Recent studies have shown that being on a video call requires more focus than a face-to-face chat. According to Gianpiero Petriglieri, an associate professor at Insead, who explores sustainable learning and development in the workplace “Video chats mean we need to work harder to process non-verbal cues like facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, and body language; paying more attention to these consumes a lot of energy. Our minds are together when our bodies feel we're not. That dissonance, which causes people to have conflicting feelings, is exhausting. You cannot relax into the conversation naturally.”*

Technical Errors
An initially scheduled 30-minute Zoom meeting can turn into an hour+ meeting because of things such as poor internet service, frozen screens and software crashes. Experiencing technical errors and not knowing how to fix it can distract us even more from the agenda at hand while adding another layer of stress. Especially if the issue isn’t able to be fixed in a timely manner.

Vanity Measures
Staring at yourself into a camera while knowing several other people are looking at you tends to add more pressure on focusing on your appearance rather than on the meeting.

Keeping up appearances is the last thing you want to think about while you are stuck at home, especially for parents who now have to homeschool, take care of the house and keep up with their 9 to 5 work schedule. Not to mention you also have to become an interior designer over night to set up your aesthetically pleasing video chat background.

Work/Life Balance
Our homes have now become our work spaces and our work spaces our homes. Zoom has blurred that balance even more because we are using the platform for work and social purposes. Once you are done with work Zooms you have to get ready for friends and family Zooms. While virtually connecting with friends and family is a great thing, it can be overwhelming after a full work day of doing the same.

How Can YUNI Help?
Here at YUNI, we pride ourselves on creating products that help to relieve stress. Yes, even the type of stress that can turn into fatigue from nonstop video conference calls. Our go-to products for in-between Zoom meetings include:

CARRY OM Stress Relieving Aromatherapy Essence: A blend of powerful essential oils – Bergamot, Grapefruit, Orange & Cedar – in rollerball package for easy application. This mood-lifting aromatherapy will help you shift from fatigued to alert. Roll onto wrists and temples, close your eyes, take a few breaths and give yourself a moment to re-charge.

MY OM WORLD Aromatic Body Mist: A micro-mist body spray featuring natural essential oil aromatherapy to help you relax, refresh and reset whenever you wish. With Geranium, Bergamot, Neroli & Sage, transform your energy with a sensory envelope of freshness. Spritz on to increase focus and clarity throughout the day and create a relaxing and uplifting cocoon.

Although Zoom meetings will seemingly be around for a while, we can help to eliminate the fatigue caused by them to make them a bit more tolerable.

* https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting