Why we feel sleepy during virtual meetings
Stifled yawns and glassy eyes aren’t uncommon in video chats and teleconferencing. Do you often find yourself tired after back-to-back meetings, and it’s not even afternoon yet? Is mental overload the reason? According to research published in the ‘Journal of Occupational Health Psychology’, there’s another reason why we’re exhausted from too many virtual meetings. “I expected to find that people get stressed in remote meetings. But the result was the opposite – especially those who were not engaged in their work quickly became drowsy during remote meetings,” commented lead author Niina Nurmi, assistant professor in organisational design and leadership at Finland’s Aalto University, in a news release. The researchers monitored 44 workers’ heart rates during nearly 400 virtual and face-to-face meetings. Findings showed that sleepiness during virtual meetings was linked to mental underload and boredom, and not mental overload as commonly believed. In addition, participants were asked to complete questionnaires to measure their overall engagement at work.
Doing remote work all wrong
“The format of a meeting had little effect on people who were highly engaged and enthusiastic about their work,” explained Asst Prof. Nurmi. “They were able to stay active even during virtual meetings. On the other hand, workers whose work engagement was low and who were not very enthusiastic about their work found virtual meetings very tiring.” It’s easier to stay focused in face-to-face meetings than virtual ones. “Especially when cameras are off, the participant is left under-stimulated and may start to compensate by multitasking,” she added. Multitasking during virtual meetings, such as checking emails, is mentally exhausting. This demands dividing our focus and quickly shifting between tasks, and this will probably tire us out even more. “Walking and other automated activities can boost your energy levels and help you to concentrate on the meeting. But if you’re trying to focus on two things that require cognitive attention simultaneously, you can’t hear if something important is happening in the meeting. Alternatively, you have to constantly switch between tasks. It’s really taxing for the brain,” Asst Prof. Nurmi elaborated further.
Tips and tricks for lively meetings
So how can we make virtual meetings less boring? Asst Prof. Nurmi presents five best practices based on a recent study. First, because there’s no limit to the number of people who can attend, we tend to invite everyone, even though the meeting directly impacts some people. It’s more efficient to send minutes or main takeaways later than have many people attend. Second, the ideal meeting should not exceed 30 minutes. Research shows that people start tiring after 10 minutes. Third, seeing someone do other things during the meeting can discourage participation. Keep distractions to a minimum and constantly be aware of what your role is. Fourth, give feedback, whether its thumbs, emojis, noises or nods, to keep the speaker actively engaged and know that you’re listening. Lastly, research reveals that people stare at their own picture. This is distracting, and can even be stressful. Don’t turn the camera off, but hide your image from yourself.
Keywords
meeting, virtual meeting, online meeting, remote meeting, video chat, teleconferencing, face-to-face meeting, mental underload, boredom, mental overload, work, worker