What Are You Doing About Your Zoom Fatigue?

March 18, 2021, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Zoom fatigue – it’s a real pain! The physical pain, the eye strain and the mental fatigue have all added up for many of us. Working from home was the dream of many, but getting set up to work from home comfortably remains an elusive dream for most.

Physiotherapists, optometrists and chiropractors are all hearing the complaints of neck, back and shoulder pain, eye strain, sore hands, and general stress. Many people are finding themselves sitting at their monitors 8 hours a day and taking far fewer breaks than they would have in the office. Some people simply aren’t moving enough and the sedentary position is unhealthy.

Working from home in non-ergonomic chairs, with poor keyboard setups, badly placed terminals, and incorrectly high tables is bad for the body.

Companies have been slow to help workers get the equipment or advice they need to set up good work stations from home even though the situation has been going on for a year now.

Makeshift workspaces like kitchen or dining room tables, closets and bad chairs have given way for some to proper office setups somewhere else in the home. Even for these people, the mental and eye fatigue of being on Zoom or other online platforms meeting and collaborating for the majority of the day is exhausting. Experts have weighed in and say that online meetings are particularly tiring.

What Causes Zoom Fatigue?

• Unnaturally long periods of close up eye contact
• Mental strain watching all the participants for behavior cues
• Sitting in one place too long
• Constantly seeing your own image

What Can You Do to Reduce Zoom Fatigue?

• Get up and move at least every hour or between meetings
• Implement a no back-to-back meeting rule if you can to allow for a 5 or 10 minute break between meetings to stretch, eat, and get your eyes off the screen. You may find everyone is amenable to this!
• Turn the self-view mode off. No one needs to see themselves for hours on end!
• Consider asking your employer for an ergonometric consult of your workspace
• If you are finding that you have eye strain or headaches get an appointment with your optometrist. You may need glasses or to adjust your screen distances
• Eat well, exercise daily, and when you aren’t working get away from screens

Many offices will welcome workers back when the vaccines are rolled out, others may adopt a hybrid model, and some will stay completely virtual. Regardless of what happens to your work situation, make sure to adopt and maintain healthy work from home habits.

You can find resources online to help with your ergonomic office setup. Your physio or an OT can likely make suggestions as well that will help with any pain or discomfort you are having.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

It is important that you review your accident benefit file with one of our experienced personal injury / car accident lawyers to ensure that you obtain access to all your benefits which include, but are limited to, things like physiotherapy, income replacement benefits, vocational retraining and home modifications.