Future of Work

Virtual Meeting Fatigue: Exploring the Impact of Virtual Meetings on Cognitive Performance and Active Versus Passive Fatigue

In their new study, Niina Nurmi and Satu Pakarinen challenged the commonly held belief that virtual meeting fatigue manifests as exhaustion (i.e., active fatigue) resulting from overloading demands and instead suggest that participation in virtual meetings may lead to increased drowsiness (i.e., passive fatigue) due to underload of stimulation.
Niina Nurmi, photo by Mikko Raskinen.
photo by Mikko Raskinen
Adam Grant's instagram post

In Niina and Satu's multilevel path analysis revealed a link between virtual meetings and higher levels of passive fatigue, which then impacted cognitive performance. Additionally, the results suggested that work engagement may act as an individual-level moderator, explaining why some knowledge workers are affected, while others are not.

As Adam Grant put it “Zoom fatigue is not burnout. It’s boreout.”

Click here to read the full article. 

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