Videoconference Fatigue? Exploring Changes in Fatigue After Videoconference Meetings During COVID-19

Abstract

In response to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global health pandemic, many employees transitioned to remote work, which included remote meetings. With this sudden shift, workers and the media began discussing videoconference fatigue, a potentially new phenomenon of feeling tired and exhausted attributed to a videoconference. In the present study, we examine the nature of videoconference fatigue,when this phenomenon occurs, and what videoconference characteristics are associated with fatigue using a mixed-methods approach. Thematic analysis of qualitative responses indicates that videoconference fatigue exists, often in near temporal proximity to the videoconference, and is affected by various videoconference characteristics. Quantitative data were collected each hour during five workdays from 55 employees who were working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Latent growthmodeling results suggest that videoconferences at different times of the day are related to deviations in employee fatigue beyond what is expected based on typical fatigue trajectories. Results from multilevel modeling of 279 videoconference meetings indicate that turning off the microphone and having higher feelings of group belongingness are related to lower postvideoconference fatigue. Additional analyses suggest that higher levels of group belongingness are the most consistent protective factor against videoconference fatigue. Such findings have immediate practical implications for workers and organizations as they continue to navigate the still relatively new terrain of remote work.