KEY CONCEPT

Virtual meetings are more tiring than face-to-face meetings not because they are more demanding, leading to the exhaustion of “active fatigue”, but because they are more monotonous and less stimulating, leading to the drowsiness of “passive fatigue.”

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IDEA SUMMARY

The well-documented “virtual meeting fatigue” the tiredness one feels after virtual meetings has been attributed to exhaustion arising from the multiple physical and psychological demands of such meetings. These physical and psychological demands include the requirement to pay constant attention to the screen, to engage in verbal and nonverbal communication, and to be constantly presentable. Two researchers from Finland dispute this conclusion, however, arguing that virtual meetings are tiring not because of physical or psychological overload, but rather an underload of stimulation. In other words, most people in virtual meetings lose interest or get bored, which leads to feelings of drowsiness.

The researchers distinguish between two types of fatigue to make their case. Active fatigue results from high-demand situations the typical feeling of being tired when we experience intense physical or mental activity. However, monotony and boredom can also make us feel tired, a feeling cognitive psychologists identify as passive fatigue.

To demonstrate the impact of passive fatigue resulting from virtual meetings, 44 employees from two Finnish companies were individually observed during two of their work days and three nights. At the beginning of the study, the employees filled out a nine-item survey that measured their work engagement. During the two days, the observers took notes on activity log software that could time-stamp every activity. The employees also wore heart rate monitoring devices, so that the observers would be able to compare the activity log to physiological indications of active or passive fatigue (the heart rate reacts in different ways when an individual is exhausted from active fatigue or drowsy from passive fatigue). After each meeting during the two days, the employees filled out a short online survey to capture their subjective feelings of fatigue, and a longer questionnaire to capture the mental and physical demands and efforts the meeting demanded. Also after the meetings, employees completed a task-switching exercise which allowed the observers to evaluate whether the meeting had left the employee cognitively impaired that is, whether the employee was no longer able to think as clearly or as quickly as before the meeting.

Analysis of this data revealed why virtual meetings make us tired; the impact of such fatigue; and how this fatigue can be combatted with employee engagement. The results are as follows:

• Virtual meetings lead to passive fatigue as measured through the subjective evaluations (the questionnaires), the heart-rate monitors, and the observers’ activity logs.

• Employee engagement influences the impact of virtual meetings. In the study, employees who were less engaged in their work reported feeling more tired after virtual meetings. Those more engaged in their work did not note any difference in fatigue from virtual or face-to-face meetings. Interestingly, the heart rate monitors of highly engaged employees (as opposed to moderately engaged employees) indicated passive fatigue. In sum, less engaged employees perceived the virtual meeting as passively fatiguing, while the bodies of highly engaged employees indicated passive fatigue even though these employees did not feel fatigued.

• Passive fatigue increases cognitive flexibility impairment, that is, our ability to think after meetings, and specifically to alternate among different tasks.

• The study also empirically confirmed passive fatigue as the reason virtual meetings impair us cognitively.

• The impact of virtual meetings on passive fatigue and thus on cognitive abilities was strongest among less-engaged employees.

In sum, especially for employees who are less engaged in their work, virtual meetings, more than face-to-face meetings, generate passive fatigue, which in turn impacts their cognitive abilities.

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BUSINESS APPLICATION

Virtual meetings, which naturally exploded during the pandemic, offer advantages, including lower costs to bring together dispersed teams and support work-from-home employees. However, virtual meetings also come with costs, as documented in this study. More than face-to-face meetings, a high number of virtual meetings drains the energies of employees. Companies and organizations should thus encourage employees and managers to limit the number of virtual meetings when possible, and favor instead face-to-face meetings, which seem to keep participants more engaged and energetic. The study also shows that mental and effort demands during meetings decrease passive fatigue. Thus, companies and organizations should also encourage meetings that include moderate task loads.

In addition, combatting passive fatigue offers another reason for companies and organizations to boost employee engagement, particularly when virtual work is involved. Such steps can include providing clear expectations and goals, and ensuring that employees feel a sense of ownership of their work. Virtual work-specific steps can include implementing virtual recognition programs and providing virtual employees with earning opportunities and opportunities to connect with other employees.

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FURTHER READING

Niina Nurmi’s profile at Aalto University School of Science

https://research.aalto.fi/en/persons/niina-nurmi-eloranta

Satu Pakarinen’s profile at LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/satu-pakarinen-43abb4ba?originalSubdomain=fi

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REFERENCES

Virtual Meeting Fatigue: Exploring the Impact of Virtual Meetings on

Cognitive Performance and Active Versus Passive Fatigue. Niina Nurmi and Satu Pakarinen. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (December 2023).

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-19786-001.html

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