Worn out by office Zoom meetings? Here’s how to stop them driving you up the wall

Zoom fatigue: we’ve all been through it – or worried we might end up its next victim. You’re sitting through a work video call for the umpteenth time this week and, reaching the end of your tether, mutter something under your breath while people drone on. “We’re boring everyone to death here,” you might say. “Your microphone’s on,” one of your colleagues tells you. “Sorry,” you reply, your voice sagging with weariness.

Who can blame Catherine Murphy, coleader of the Social Democrats, for ending up in just this situation this week, after apparently nearing her wits' end during a Public Accounts Committee meeting? She couldn't bear the monotony; the Independent TD Verona Murphy, sharing the video link, let her know everyone could hear her.

And it’s not just the monotony: staring at all those faces, and having them stare back at you, can lead to the tiredness of sensory overload. Why are the video meetings we’ve been holding through lockdown so exhausting? Watch the Irish Times video that appears with this article, which has been made by Enda O’Dowd, to find out, as well as to learn how to combat Zoom fatigue.