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Over the last few years since the start of COVID,, many professionals are experiencing an excessive amount of stress and fatigue, perhaps best understood in the larger context of pandemic fatigue1, compassion fatigue, burnout, vicarious trauma, and what is increasingly being called Zoom Fatigue. In previous years, the scientific research base has referred to this last phenomenon as videoconferencing fatigue and was reported by a wide variety of people who are required to sit at a computer terminal for work without training in how to avoid ocular stress, fatigue, or pain.2
Zoom Fatigue is not only real, but it is surfacing as a topic of many larger collegial discussions of coping techniques, self-care, and telehealth solutions, as reflected in a wide variety of articles published on professional association websites, several recently published peer-reviewed, independent journal articles, such as the recently published special issue of Traumatology, called Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue, and Vicarious Trauma.
Interestingly, the telehealth literature has not generally reported the phenomenon as a widespread issue until COVID-19. The primary focus of the current article, then, is to consider the range of factors that can contribute to Zoom Fatigue and offer suggestions for how it can be mitigated. This blog post also introduces a new series of articles focused on how to make your telehealth experience easier, more enjoyable, and more productive. Brought to you by Telehealth.org and its sister non-profit organization, the Telehealth Institute (TI), this article series is intent on helping you, the professional, equip yourself with the most easily managed technology, the strongest evidence base, and a roadmap for how to use both in delivering the…
