Do you have a hard time staying focused during a Zoom meeting? You’re in good company, according to a new survey that finds American workers completely zone out after less than half an hour of a virtual meeting.
The poll of 2-thousand employed U.S. adults finds:
- For the 71% who attend virtual meetings, it only takes 27 minutes before they lose their concentration and their eyes start to strain.
- The average worker switches between four different screens in a workday, which may be why almost a third (32%) experience “screen fatigue” at least once a day. And 18% deal with it multiple times in a day.
- One thing that grabs our attention during those long virtual meetings is seeing something unexpected in a colleague’s background. Respondents have seen pets (41%), other family members (29%) or something that gave them insight into something new about that person (23%) during a virtual meeting.
- Another 16% noticed something embarrassing or something that shouldn’t be seen by others.
- These unusual sightings in the background have distracted 22% from the rest of the meeting and left 17% struggling to figure out exactly what’s behind the other person.
- The most interesting things people have seen in virtual meeting backgrounds include “a puppy licking the screen” and “colleagues who had no time to change and were wearing pajamas to the meeting.”
- More than two-thirds of those surveyed (69%) admit they don’t get fully dressed in professional attire when on camera, opting for a “business up top, casual on the bottom” look instead.
- But appearance matters, as two-thirds say they take people who are dressed professionally during virtual meetings more seriously than those who aren’t.
- Americans also feel people are more likely to be engaged in those meetings when they’re wearing professional clothing (32%), have perfectly styled hair (19%) or wear glasses (14%).
- About a third (32%) consider people who wear glasses to be smarter than those who don’t, while 49% think glasses make someone look more professional.
Source: Talker
Scott's Thoughts:
- Staying focused for 27 minutes of a Zoom meeting is a long time, don’t you think?
- I once saw a dude in his underwear and a dress shirt. He got up to grab something for the meeting. Nobody else seemed to notice. Or maybe they did notice and like me didn't say anything.
- Many of the meetings I am on can be covered with a simple email.