A new survey from global human resource consulting firm Robert Half shows 38% of employees who responded said they have experienced video call fatigue since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to www.constructiondive.com.
The most common video call pet peeve was technical issues followed by too many meeting participants and people talking over each other. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they find virtual meetings inefficient and exhausting and would prefer to communicate via email or phone. Twenty-six percent also said the practicality and novelty of videoconferencing has worn off during the past eight months.
A reported overload of meetings has been a workplace problem for many years and has been made worse by having to conduct most meetings virtually, according to Robert Half’s findings. Robert Half noted although many are still working remotely, every meeting may not be needed in the virtual format, and some different, shorter meetings may need to occur as a replacement.
An April study from Clockwise found employees were spending more time in one-on-one meetings and team meetings, which increased the amount of “fragmented time” on employees’ schedules and prevents people from doing focused work. Employees also were working about an extra hour per week.
Experts that spoke with HR Dive about running online meetings effectively suggested making sure digital safety is a priority, keeping cameras on as much as possible and running meetings with a more intentional, deliberate format that actively solicits the opinions of team members. They also suggested canceling or moving meetings if they were not necessary.
