Predictors of Zoom Fatigue among Higher Education Faculty in the Philippines

1. Predictors of Zoom Fatigue among
Higher Education Faculty in the
Philippines
Ryan Michael F. Oducado, PhD, RN, RM, LPT
Ma. Asuncion Christine V. Dequilla, PhD, LPT
Joselito F. Villaruz, MD, PhD
West Visayas State University
La Paz, Iloilo City, Philippines
rmoducado@wvsu.edu.ph

2. INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp rise of
videoconferencing tools utilization in online education
(Massner, 2021; Oducado et al., 2021).
It has been observed that Zoom meeting
participants increased by 2900 percent during the
global coronavirus disease outbreak (Iqbal, 2021).

3. A new phenomenon of feeling tired and exhausted during
virtual meetings or Zoom fatigue began to emerge
(Fauville et al., 2021a).
Given that this new phenomenon appeared only recently
with the pandemic and early researches on Zoom fatigue
were mostly conducted abroad, there is still limited data
about Zoom fatigue.
There is a need to explore Zoom fatigue in the educational
context as online remote learning is likely to play a
substantial role in teaching and learning even beyond the
pandemic (Massner, 2021).

4. OBJECTIVE
This study examined the
predictors of Zoom or
videoconferencing fatigue among
higher education faculty in the
Philippines.

5. METHODS
RESEARCH DESIGN
Descriptive, predictive
Cross-sectional
PARTICIPANTS
322
606
Response rate: 53%
Average age: 45 years old
68% 32%

6. INTRUMENT &
DATA COLLECTION
Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue scale
by Fauville et al. (2021)
Online survey (Google Forms)
July 2021
DATA ANALYSIS
SPSS v23
Multiple linear regression analysis
Level of significance set at .05

7. Results
4/11/2022

8. Level of Zoom fatigue
Zoom fatigue M SD
Visual 3.57 .91
General 3.50 .83
Motivational 3.40 .92
Social 3.20 .98
Emotional 3.02 .92
ZEF score
3.35 .76

9. Regression analysis
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Independent variables β t p-value 95% CI for β
(Constant) 3.145 9.214 .000 2.473 3.816
Attitude -.316 -5.663 .000 -.425 -.206
Physically trapped .224 4.395 .000 .124 .324
Duration .166 3.880 .000 .082 .250
Mirror anxiety .139 3.182 .002 .053 .224
Interval -.085 -2.951 .003 -.141 -.028
Personality (emotional stability) -.071 -2.035 .043 -.139 -.002
Note: R = .553 R2 = .307 Std. Error of the Estimate = .640 F = 23.263 p = .000

10. • Consistent with prior research (Fauville et al., 2021a;
Oducado, 2021), this study found that attitude toward
videoconferencing was the strongest predictor of Zoom or
videoconference fatigue.
• It was also demonstrated in this study that the intensity of
videoconferencing use in terms of interval and duration
predicted Zoom fatigue. With the exclusion of frequency for
this study, the result corroborates the findings of scholars
who first studied videoconference fatigue (Fauville et al.,
2021ab; Queiroz et al., 2021).

11. • Moreover, the personality domain of
emotional stability had an inverse
relationship with videoconferencing
fatigue in this current study.
• Similar to our finding, it was noted
by other scholars that more
emotionally unstable individuals
experience higher levels of fatigue
than emotionally stable individuals
(Fauville et al., 2021b).

12. • Also, this study found that two nonverbal mechanisms
(mirror anxiety and sense of being physically trapped)
were significant predictors of virtual meeting fatigue.
• Mirror anxiety, which can be triggered by the self-view
in videoconferences can heighten self-focused attention
contributes to higher levels of Zoom fatigue.
• Sense of being physically trapped because of the need
to stay within the field of view of the camera to stay
centered within the video stream also increases Zoom
fatigue.

13. CONCLUSIONS
• Videoconferencing has raised some concerns among
teachers experiencing symptoms of tiredness, and
exhaustion after Zoom calls or virtual meetings.
• This research highlights that negative attitude
toward videoconferencing, the intensity of use of
videoconferencing technologies (longer meetings
and shorter intervals) and nonverbal mechanisms
(mirror anxiety and being physically trapped)
contribute to the higher levels of videoconference
fatigue experience of faculty.
4/11/2022

14. • Also, certain personality traits may play a role and put a
person at higher risk of developing fatigue during virtual
conferences.
• Considering that using videoconferencing in education may
continue beyond the pandemic, this study suggests that for
better videoconferencing experience and to fully maximize
the benefits of this platform, mechanisms to combat fatigue
during virtual meetings may be proposed.
4/11/2022

15. • While videoconferencing made schooling possible during
the pandemic, it is recommended to be mindful of the
intensity of virtual meetings.
• Thoughtful consideration of the non-verbal factors that
contribute to Zoom fatigue is also suggested to help
minimize the impact of exhaustion during
videoconferencing.
• The findings of this study contribute to the growing body
of literature on Zoom fatigue and can serve as an input in
the policy development in the use of videoconferencing
tools in institutions of higher learning.
4/11/2022

17. 4/11/2022