Opening your calendar to a series of back-to-back Zoom meetings can be overwhelming, especially with remote work becoming more common in the U.S. since the pandemic. According to Gallup, 27 percent of employees in remote-capable jobs now work entirely remotely, including some incoming CEOs from companies like Starbucks and Victoria's Secret who have flexible work arrangements. However, remote work has led to issues like Zoom fatigue—described as a mix of physical and psychological strain from prolonged use of videoconferencing platforms. This fatigue can be significant for CEOs of fully remote companies, considering they typically spend around 72 percent of their working hours in meetings, according to a 2018 Harvard Business School study.
Loren Castle, the 40-year-old founder and CEO of Sweet Loren's, a natural cookie dough brand based in L.A., experiences this challenge while leading her 22-person team virtually. She notes that working remotely makes you busier because Zoom allows back-to-back scheduling without breaks. Even Zoom's CEO, Eric Yuan, has admitted to "meeting fatigue," once having 19 Zoom meetings in a single day.
How do remote CEOs stay effective and energized while avoiding Zoom fatigue? We asked three CEOs, including Castle, for their tips:
**Turn Cameras Off (When Possible):**
Ethan Rasiel, the 52-year-old CEO and co-founder of Lightspeed Public Relations, a fully virtual company in Maplewood, New Jersey, encourages employees to turn off cameras for internal calls. This policy helps combat Zoom fatigue for their team of 20 full-time employees and for Rasiel himself. It allows him to listen, lets others take the lead, and provides the freedom to move around during calls. Castle also supports this idea and often takes walks during one-on-one meetings unless screen sharing is required.
**Incorporate Zoom Breaks:**
Jennifer Maguire, the 51-year-old president and founder of Jennifer Maguire Communications and Public Relations in New York City, introduced a policy to avoid Zoom meetings on Fridays. Her team uses this day for uninterrupted project work, boosting productivity and allowing for strategic planning. Similarly, Rasiel's company moved standing client calls to Tuesdays and Thursdays to free up more focused time on other days. This structured schedule provides more time for in-depth work, improving idea generation and execution.
**Replace Meetings with Emails:**
Instead of always holding meetings, CEOs should consider whether a Zoom session is necessary. For instance, Maguire suggests handling some tasks via email, which can reduce meeting times. Yuan also recommends using chat or email to counteract Zoom fatigue. Reducing meeting duration by handling some items through email can be effective; for example, a task that previously might have required a meeting may now take just minutes via email, saving valuable time.
Overall, these strategies—turning off cameras, scheduling Zoom breaks, and replacing meetings with emails—can help CEOs remain effective and energized in a remote work environment.