Food For Thought: Zoom Fatigue
By Justin Bedwany Systems Engineer & Chris Bowra Internship Recipient 2020 A FAMILIAR PATTERN You start your morning routine, bleary eyed and a little uncoordinated, finishing just in time to make it to your first video meeting of the day. You realise about 10 minutes in that all your useful contributions fell on deaf ears, as your microphone was muted. The meeting drags on half an hour longer than it needs to, because people are struggling to properly convey their ideas without prearranged visual aids. By the time it finishes, it’s time for the next one. With lockdowns extended, we’re back at it again. Zoom fatigue is an artifact of the world suddenly being catapulted into a new normal it wasn’t prepared for. It’s that disproportionate feeling of tiredness after a day packed with orchestrating remote calls and communications, leaping through technological hoops along the way. We make do as best we can, but the truth of it is that the quick meetings we once took for granted now take a lot more effort and coordination to pull off successfully. Aside from an end to lockdowns, the only solution left becomes making the process as smooth as possible. BUT HOW DO WE OVERCOME...