Online Meeting Fatigue – When Virtual Meetings Drain Our Energy

Online meeting fatigue is a very familiar state for modern office workers. Even without commuting or working overtime, after just a few hours of online meetings, many people still feel exhausted, mentally strained, dry-eyed, and unable to concentrate. This feeling is not the result of “laziness,” but rather stems from the way the brain processes online meetings very differently from face-to-face interaction.

As remote and hybrid work models become the norm, online meetings are quietly affecting productivity, mental health, and team creativity.

1. Online meeting fatigue from a neuroscience perspective

According to research from Stanford University, people who participate in prolonged video meetings experience significantly higher levels of neurological fatigue than those attending in-person meetings. The primary cause of online meeting fatigue does not lie in platforms like Zoom or Google Meet, but in the brain’s constant effort to interpret incomplete non-verbal signals.

During online meetings, the brain regions responsible for recognizing faces and emotions must work continuously, while lacking information about physical space, full-body gestures, and real social context. This places the brain in a state of cognitive overload, causing mental energy to be depleted much faster than usual.

2. Why seeing yourself on screen worsens online meeting fatigue

One unique factor of online meeting fatigue is having to see yourself on the screen. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), continuous self-observation activates self-evaluation mechanisms and social stress, causing the sympathetic nervous system to become more active.

At this point, the brain reacts as if it is being constantly scrutinized, even when no one is actually judging you. After many such meetings, feelings of fatigue, anxiety, and disengagement begin to surface, even though the workload itself has not increased.

3. How does online meeting fatigue affect work performance?

When this state persists, concentration and decision-making abilities decline noticeably. The brain expends a large amount of energy simply to “remain present” in meetings, leaving less cognitive capacity for actual professional tasks.

The danger is that this condition is often misinterpreted as a lack of motivation or poor performance, when in reality it is a sign that the brain no longer has sufficient space to recover and generate creative thinking.

4. Redesigning meetings to reduce online meeting fatigue

The solution to online meeting fatigue is not to eliminate virtual meetings entirely, but to change how they are organized. Shortening meeting durations, limiting participant numbers, incorporating short breaks, and allowing cameras to be turned off when not necessary all give the brain a chance to “breathe.”

Many organizations have adopted “no-meeting days” or hold meetings only when truly necessary, rather than simply because time slots already exist. When the number of meetings decreases, actual productivity often increases.

5. HRI Vietnam’s perspective on online meeting fatigue

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Based on its consulting and recruitment experience with numerous companies, HRI Vietnam —a firm consistently ranked among the Top 10 Headhunting Companies in Vietnam—observes that online meeting fatigue is no longer an individual issue, but a reflection of how organizations operate.

Companies that maintain sustainable performance tend to proactively redesign their meeting culture, respect deep-focus time, and prioritize employees’ mental well-being. According to HRI, reducing online meeting fatigue not only boosts productivity but is also a critical factor in retaining talent in the digital workplace.

This condition is not a sign of weakness, but a natural response of the brain to cognitive overload. When organizations and individuals truly understand the nature of this state, adjusting work practices becomes a long-term advantage rather than a burden.

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