4 Ways To Talk To Your Boss About Zoom Fatigue | How To Make Your Home Office Work For You | 5 Tips For Managing Remote Interns

Plus: How the role of HR has changed in response to the pandemic

Before joining the remote workforce in mid-March, I could count on one hand how many times I’d participated in a videoconference. Four months later, I have at least one every day before noon. While video meetings do have their perks, chief among them visibility in a virtual world, between the technical glitches and awkward silences, not to mention the energy it takes to look engaged on camera, they can be downright exhausting. Enter, Zoom fatigue. But when video has become the new normal for communication, what’s a professional to do? Talk to your manager, of course. Here are four tips for a productive conversation.

Take care to prepare. While videoconferences can create a sense of connection, which is crucial for telecommuters, they aren’t necessary for every conversation. Take stock of the meetings on your calendar, and ask yourself, “Do I need to be on camera for this call to be successful?” If the answer is yes, then by all means turn on your camera. But if the answer is no, identify another form of communication that you feel makes more sense. Then, set up some time to discuss it with your manager—and please, don’t make it a videoconference.

And here’s more on everything you need to know about working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

For more on working and leading from home, check out our guide, updated daily.

The Telecommuter's Toolkit

Just as your office wasn’t built to serve your personal needs, your home wasn’t built to serve your professional ones—but that doesn’t mean you can’t redesign it in a way that enables you to be your most productive self. This is your guide to doing just that.

Managing interns virtually this summer? Ensure a positive experience for all by taking the time to understand the implications and limitations of a remote internship. Then, heed this advice.

As more employees join the remote workforce, employers would do well to consider what reskilling opportunities they need to perform their roles in new environments. Not sure where to begin? Every leader can learn from the example set by this organization.

The Break Room

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